He made his international debut on 26 March 1977 at the age of 19 in a friendly against Malawi which Zambia won 8–1 and he did enough to convince fans that a talented goalkeeper had arrived on the scene. Nicknamed "The Black Cat" he won the Zambian FA cup when Roan beat Mufulira Wanderers 3 – 2 in a thrilling final played at Independence Stadium and was in Zambia's team at the CECAFA tournament later that year. At the end of the season, Chileshe was the surprise choice for the footballer of the year award by the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ). Amid a lot of public discontent because fans felt the player was too raw and unknown to merit the top award, and that Godfrey Chitalu should have been the winner as he had done more on the pitch than any other player, and without him, Zambia would not have qualified to the 1978 CAN tournament. Chileshe was however backed by national team captain Ackim Musenge who said he deserved the award, rather than picking on old timers all the time. Chileshe himself said he did not expect the award but he was pleased that he had won it. "Like all the other players, I was rather surprised at my selection. We all thought one of the old guard would be given the award."