It was a moment that was supposed to celebrate one man’s brilliance on a football pitch. Instead, it became a mirror held up to the face of African football, sparking laughter, heartbreak, debate, and ultimately, an unexpected wave of solidarity from across the world.
Kennedy Musonda had just scored the winning goal in a Zambian Super League fixture between Power Dynamos and Nkana, sealing a hard-fought 1-0 victory in what is one of Zambia’s most passionate local rivalries. The match is known as the Kitwe Derby a fixture steeped in history between two clubs from the Copperbelt town of Zambia, whose home stadiums sit less than four kilometres apart. Power Dynamos earned promotion to the top flight of Zambian football in 1979, and ever since, this derby has carried the weight of an entire community on its shoulders.
Musonda’s goal sent the home faithful into celebrations. He was named Man of the Match. And then the presentation began.
After the game, Musonda was asked to stay back to be rewarded for his performance on the day. A total of five crates of eggs were brought out as his reward. He received two crates for scoring the goal that won the game, and three more for being named the Man of the Match.
The Zambian official who made the presentation declared: “Presenting to Kennedy as the man of the match and the goal scorer. There are two trays for the goal that is good and then three for the man of the match, and this is courtesy of KeepSafe Farms Enterprises. Kenneth, congratulations. Enjoy your eggs.”
Musonda, visibly caught off guard but gracious in the moment, accepted the prize. He told those gathered: “I just want to say thank you for the eggs that have been given to us. I’d like to thank my teammates, the coaches, the management, and I would also just like to dedicate these eggs to one of our supporters that lost his life.”
In the midst of an unusual award, a grieving community had found a footballer generous enough to turn even eggs into a tribute.
The match between Power Dynamos and Nkana had actually taken place in November 2022, but it was only in January 2023 that the video found its way onto international timelines and when it did, it detonated. Within hours, Kennedy Musonda was no longer just a Zambian striker. He was a name on the lips of football fans from Lagos to London, from Nairobi to New York.
The reactions were swift and varied. Some fans mocked the Zambian league openly, questioning how a professional football competition could offer eggs as its premier individual award. Others were more sardonic in their sympathy, with one fan writing: “Considering the cost of eggs now, it’s a good award.” Yet others turned the moment into a broader critique of how African football structures continue to lag behind in rewarding the talent they produce. One fan took a direct jibe at the English Premier League for its tradition of handing players empty trophy plaques with no monetary value, and suggested that at least the Zambian league had given something practical.
But beneath the jokes, something more uncomfortable was being said that a player who had just won a derby with a match-winning goal deserved better than a consignment of farm produce, however well-intentioned the gesture.
What the viral moment obscured was the calibre of the man at the centre of it. During his time with Power Dynamos in the Zambian Premier League, Kennedy Musonda emerged as the league’s leading top scorer in the 2022–23 season, netting 11 goals before his mid-season transfer.
Musonda subsequently made the switch from Power Dynamos to Young Africans SC in Tanzania — one of East Africa’s most storied clubs where his career continued its upward trajectory. At Young Africans, he was recognised as the club’s best goalscorer in September 2023, contributing significantly to their continental push with 11 goals across 17 CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup matches, including key strikes in CAF quarterfinals and semifinals. On the international stage, Musonda made a strong debut in Zambia’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign, scoring four goals in six appearances to help secure qualification.
Perhaps the most remarkable chapter of this story came not from within football’s institutions, but from an eight-year-old boy in Spain.
Lucas Gomes, aged eight, wrote to Musonda after watching the video of the egg presentation. In his letter, the boy said he was deeply unhappy to see Musonda being given egg trays as a Man of the Match award. A medal, accompanied by the letter, was presented to Musonda by the Spanish Ambassador to Tanzania at his residence in Dar es Salaam.
In his letter, Lucas wrote: “Hello Kennedy, I am Lucas Gomes. I am sending you this letter because I have seen that Xavi received a trophy and you have been given five trays of eggs.”
In his acknowledgement, Musonda called it a humble gesture, and reflected that when the egg incident happened, it went viral across Africa, and that he had at times received negative comments in its wake. “I thank God that something amazing has come out of the bad story,” he said.
It was a rare moment where the noise of social media ridicule gave way to something quieter and more human.
The eggs story is funny until it isn’t. Behind the viral laughter is a structural reality that African football administrators must confront seriously: that the continent continues to produce world-class footballers players who go on to star in the CAF Champions League, qualify nations for the Africa Cup of Nations, and earn transfers to competitive leagues across the globe while the domestic systems that first nurtured them often cannot afford to honour them with dignity.
This is not a story unique to Zambia. Across the continent, in community leagues and even some national competitions, player welfare, match fees, and the simple symbolism of recognition remain chronically underfunded. When sponsorship of a Man of the Match award falls to a local farm enterprise rather than a formal football budget line, the question is not whether KeepSafe Farms Enterprises acted in bad faith they clearly did not. The question is why, in a football association with enough structure to run a national super league, there is no guaranteed prize framework for individual excellence on matchday.
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Kennedy Musonda’s five crates of eggs became famous. But behind that fame is a young African footballer who deserved a trophy, a cheque, or at the very minimum, the assurance that his country’s football structures see him as more than a viral moment waiting to happen.
He scored the winner. He was the best player on the pitch. He dedicated his prize to a fan who had died.
He deserved more than eggs.
