Govt adamant to host the 2017 u-20 Africa Cup Championship

Sun, 25 Dec 2016 10:57:24 +0000

By GRACE CHAILE

 GOVERNMENT is adamant to host the 2017 under-20 Africa Cup Championship because it will also benefit the Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), says sports minister Moses Mawere.

Maware said preparations to host the tournament scheduled for February 26 to March 12 next year, would not only advertise Zambia to the continent but also benefit small local businesses.

He said football was a business and if good strategies were put in place, it could could bring revenue to the nation.

“The ministry of Sports is working together with cooperating partners to ensure the under-20 Africa Cup of Nations is a success. This tournament will not only be beneficial to the well-known business entities but trickle down to SMEs,” he said.

He encouraged SMEs to put their businesses in order to attract international delegates. “I call on all SMEs to rebrand their products to attract foreign visitors. This is an opportunity to expose our goods and possibly attract an investor,” said  Mawere

The minister revealed that the 11 committees’ setup to look into the organisation of the event were committed to the cause.

He was optimistic that small works been done on the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka to march to the Confederation of African Football standards will be completely done by early January.

“We want to ensure the two stadiums hosting the games which is the National Heroes and Levy Mwanawasa in Ndola were in shape,” he said.