Dear Editor,
I WISH to congratulate Andrew Kamanga on being re-elected as the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president last Saturday. Kamanga retained his position after beating his rival Emmanuel Munaile, the former Member of Parliament and former FAZ vice president.
Kamanga polled 57 votes while Munaile got 29 votes at last Saturday’s elective annual general meeting held at Fairmount Hotel in Livingstone.
The annual general meeting was last year postponed because of the coronavirus. It is good that the long awaited elections have passed. Prior to the elections, FAZ was embroiled in some wrangles among the committee members.
However, these wrangles were exacerbated by politics which took centre stage in the governing of football in our country.
The unresolved wrangles in FAZ should be left behind as the re-election of Kamanga marks the new dawn in the governance of football in our country. Football is the unifying factor and the number one sport globally and Zambia in particular.
However, the aftermath of the FAZ elections should now set the new tone in reviving the dwindling football standards in our country particularly at the senior national team level.
Zambia was once a football powerhouse in Africa. In view of this, it is important to do something to regain the lost football glory.
It is unacceptable that our senior national football team have failed to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) football tournament and also for the 2019 AfCON edition.
I am cheered with Kamanga’s statement after his victory that it is now the time for reconciliation in the spirit of improving the football standards in our country.
I wish Kamanga all the best as he embarks on his tour of duty in his second term of office. Let the stakeholders support the Kamanga executive so that it delivers on its mandate of developing football in the country.
ELEMIYA PHIRI,
Lusaka.
