CHIMWEMWE LIWENA

Chimwemwe Liwena Signs to Play Basketball in Madrid While Studying Architecture

Spain is where Chimwemwe Liwena will play and study for the 2026-27 season. The 18-year-old Zambian guard has signed to play basketball in Madrid while studying architecture, taught in English, at Universidad Europea.

From Zambia’s youth national teams to Valencia

Chimwemwe is a 6’0″ (183 cm) guard who plays both backcourt spots, as a shooting guard or running the point. He wore the Zambia jersey early, playing for the U16 national team in 2022 at 14 years old.

In 2024 he carried the scoring load for Zambia’s U19 schools national team, averaging 30 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists over four games. He shot 50% inside the arc, 40% from three and 90% at the free-throw line.

That is the guard who arrived in Valencia: a scorer with a feel for the game and two positions in his toolbox. What he had not faced yet was the size, speed and contact of a European game played by adults.

Nine weeks at the European Summer League

Chimwemwe joined EuroProBasket’s nine-week European Summer League in spring 2025. He was 17 and competing against adult players every day. The early weeks were about getting his body ready for that level, adjusting to the pace of European practices and learning what coaches expect from an import player.

His attitude never dipped. He was coachable from the first session, took every correction and kept showing up for the work that never makes a highlight reel.

Coming off the bench in his first three ESL games, he struggled to get his shot going. By the final day he had moved into the starting lineup and played his best game of the summer: 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. A slow start, steady improvement and his strongest game at the end is the arc coaches want to see from a young guard.

Signing to play basketball in Madrid while earning a degree

After the summer, Chimwemwe and his family made their decision: studies and basketball, together. Instead of putting everything into an overseas contract straight away, he would build a university degree and a playing career in Spain at the same time.

He enrolled in the Grado en Fundamentos de la Arquitectura, taught in English at Universidad Europea in Madrid, one of EuroProBasket’s partner universities. Before any tryout, he went to work on what Valencia had shown him. He trained every day, got two sessions in on some days, added runs for conditioning, cleaned up his diet and studied European basketball on film.

By the time he tried out, he was ready to compete. We have contacts with clubs all over the area around his campus, and we started with the one we saw as the best fit. He signed with the team within weeks of arriving, as his first semester began, and in a city packed with clubs and players chasing the same roster spots, he earned his in the gym.

How to study and play basketball in Spain

You can study and play basketball in Spain at the same time. Chimwemwe’s route shows how: a university degree taught in English during the day, with training and games for a local club around his class schedule.

The EuroPro Institute pathway

Chimwemwe did not attend the EuroPro Institute, but his route ran through the same club contacts and university partnerships. The Institute is built for players who want both: daily training and games with EuroProBasket in Valencia, and a degree at our partner universities, Universidad Europea and ESBS – European Sport Business School.

Over a decade of experience, 400+ players signed and committed in 25+ different countries. Receipts, not promises. Explore the EuroPro Institute program and see every player who has signed and committed with EuroProBasket.