Tue, 20 Dec 2016 13:32:35 +0000
By BENNIE MUNDANDO
IT IS ridiculous and an insult for the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) to pay our victorious U-20 champions a meagre K5,000 after winning the COSAFA cup yet officials who travelled with them were given hefty allowances, a FAZ councillor has charged.
Zanama Brave Rovers football club general secretary Kelvin Chipili told The Daily Nation Sports yesterday that more money should be given to the players to motivate them as the meagre allowances they were given was not reflective of the commendable job the team did in South Africa.
Chipili said it was wrong for FAZ to claim credit for the job the boys did yet ignoring their contribution by giving them money which will have very little impact on their lives adding that lack of motivation for the players may create a problem as the team prepares for the Youth Championship next year.
He said FAZ should not give an excuse that it was keeping resources for preparations for the forth-coming coming continental tournament because players’ welfare were equally important arguing that K5,000 could not meet their basic needs.
He said motivating the players to perform better in upcoming tournaments was imperative because that was the surest way through which the country will continue minting medals in international assignments.
“Giving our players K5,000 after winning such a closely contested COSAFA tournament is not only ridiculous but an insult to the effort they put in place to lift the trophy. We have a very good side that gave everything to win the tournament and I think they deserve something better. Subjecting them to peanut allowances is not fair and may have adverse effects in future assignments.
“FAZ cannot tell the country that out of what they got from COSAFA for lifting the trophy that is the best they can give to the boys. What can K5,000 buy for a player with the current economic situation? We demand that more money should be given to these players because they have brought glory to this country. We know there are huge costs that FAZ will incur in preparing the team for the Africa youth championship but this is not good enough,” Chipili said.
He said players’ bonuses were critical to the performance of the team and that once players were not satisfied with the way they are treated in tournaments, the team will decline irreparably.
He said the current Under-20m team was the cream of the nation but noted that all what the technical bench has put in place to mould such a strong team was bound to crumble if FAZ continued taking player welfare as business as usual.
He said there was need for the association to revisit the money given to the players by giving them more so that they can continue working hard.
The U-20 players are said to have received about K5,000 after lifting the COSAFA trophy in South Africa last week.
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HAZ decries lack of support
By BENNIE MUNDANDO
THERE is no way you expect sporting disciplines considered to be small to develop if the Ministry of Sport is turning a blind eye to our welfare even at the time we need support from government, the Handball Association of Zambia (HAZ) has charged.
Speaking in the wake Zambia’s stuttering performance at the Japan invitational handball tournament at which the team has won one and lost the other match so far, HAZ president Victor Bwalya Banda said the operations at the ministry left a lot to be desired and has asked President Edgar Lungu to intervene in the matter.
Banda said preparations for the invitational tournament were not adequate as the ministry did nothing to help the team travel to Japan saying everything was left to the association without realising that it was the country that was benefiting from such tournaments.
He said due to the inertia and reluctance by the ministry to help, HAZ had taken it that their contribution in sports had been ignored yet administrators were at the heart of transforming the lives of the youths who participated in the sport.
“We left Zambia with a lot of things undone as we had no funds to put all the logistics in place despite having engaged the Ministry of Youths and Sport. There are a lot of future benefits for Zambia out of this trip. It’s a pity as a country we are only good at rhetoric but action-wise we are far from being real. We are really doing all our best to change the lives of the youths but we don’t get the much needed support from the ministry or National Sports Council of Zambia (NSCZ). “We are representing our country with much patriotism but no support from our ministry. This event is part of the preparations for Tokyo 2020 Olympics but our ministry and National Olympic Committee only want to talk about such just two weeks before the Olympics,” Banda said.
He said the team started the invitational tournament in Japan on a patchy note as a result of inadequate preparations and the cold weather which has affected players’ performances.
He however thanked the Zambian embassy in Japan for supporting the team since it arrived in that country by providing moral support.
“The Zambian Embassy staff in Japan came in good numbers to support the boys’ handball national team. So far the boys are adapting very well. The weather is bad but the boys are coping up. We have a lot of supporters from the Japanese community.
“However, the attention we are receiving from the ministry is absolutely ridiculous. If we were to win at international level, we need to invest and start preparations years before. We are appealing to the President Lungu to hear our cry and support our boys,” he said.
