Sat, 17 Dec 2016 10:53:19 +0000
BY BenniE MUNDANDO
THOSE who want to participate in wrangles at Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) must take deep introspection of what they are doing and put the interest of the country first because antagonism will not help us move forward, a football administrator has said.
Jailous Siyame said the caderism and factionalism that had characterised Football House from the time FAZ president Andrew Kamanga suspended his vice-president Richard Kazala and committee member Blackwell Siwale was not in the best interest of soccer development and has appealed to councillors and other stakeholders to be level-headed.
Siyame said councillors had failed to distinguish the problem at FAZ and the cases under which the duo are facing disciplinary cases as most of them were siding with either camps for convenience’s sake and not in the best interest of football.
He said it was unfortunate that some people had the confidence to start attacking Government over the matter without realising that FAZ without government’s blessing would render football useless in the country. He said some comments from councillors were being insincere in their quest to gain recognition by their camps in attacking the Ministry of Sports without realising that the ministry was an important stakeholder in the smooth running of football in the country.
“The factionalism and caderism that had engulfed FAZ is not good for the development of football in Zambia and individuals in those camps who are making careless statements about the issue should realise that their personal gains will not help football to grow. We have not heard Kazala explaining whether he got any money or not but all we are getting is that the procedure used to suspend him was wrong but what is important between the procedure used and the allegation levelled against him?
“We all want peace at Football House. We cannot be fuelling more debate on this issue and diverting the attention of officials to defending themselves at the expense of football development. We all want the best from our association,” Siyame said.
He cautioned councillors against attacking Government, saying disassociating Government from the operations of FAZ would create more problems. He said while Government cannot interfere in the running of football in the country, it was the major stakeholder to which the association should be attached.
“I have seen players drinking water from a horse pipe as a result of a standoff between FAZ and government, yet some councillors have even the energy to tell the minister that he is off-side over the matter simply because they want to maintain their connections and this should not be tolerated.
“If we are not careful as a country, we will find ourselves in more trouble because of defending these few individuals who have involved themselves in acts of insubordination and gross misconduct,” he said.
