After Zambia's independence in 1964, the national team became part of the Badminton Confederation of Africa in the 1970s. At the time, the national team hosted its first national championships.[2]
The Zambian team had better results in the 1998 Thomas Cup qualifiers. Although the team lost all their matches to Portugal and Italy, they were able to win a match against Kazakhstan and prevailed against the Georgian team after winning 4–1 in the final match.[3]
Zambia then competed in the 2017 African Badminton Championships. The Zambian team finished as group runner-up and advanced to the semi-finals for a guaranteed bronze medal.[8] The team lost 3–0 to rivals South Africa in the semi-finals.[9] In 2018, the Zambian team debuted in the Commonwealth Games mixed team event.[10] The team finished on the bottom of their group after losing to Mauritius, Jamaica and Singapore.
In 2022, the team made their second appearance at the Commonwealth Games.[11] The team lost 5–0 to Malaysia.[12] The Mulenga brothers have been saviors for the Zambian team as they were able to win a match against Jarred Elliott and Robert Summers of South Africa.[13] Zambia ended their 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign after losing 4–1 against Jamaica.
^ abcThe Zambian senior and junior teams were late to compete in the championships after they reached the wrong venue and therefore withdrew from the competition.