By MICHAEL MIYOBA
THE Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has encouraged CAF envoys Power Dynamos and FC MUZA to finish off the job at home after picking mixed results in the first preliminary round first leg fixtures played over the weekend.
The Zambian Champions, Power Dynamos were stunned 2-1 by African Stars of Namibia in a game played in Johannesburg while FC MUZA held Cono Sports of Equatorial Guinea to a 1-1 stalemate.
The results impressed FAZ Chief Andrew Kamanga who believes that next weekends fixtures will be crucial for the continental envoys as they push for qualification to the next round.
Kamanga said both Power Dynamos and FC MUZA have what it takes to match on to the final preliminary stage.
“A big congratulations to debutants MUZA who recorded a 1-1 away draw to Cano Sport in Malabo while Power Dynamos lost 2-1 to Namibian outfit African Stars in South Africa but are still in with a chance at home,” Kamanga said.
“There CAF campaign is no longer a club affair but a national one and we urge everyone to come in droves and support our flag carriers,” he said.
Kamanga said Power Dynamos and FC MUZA’s progress on the continent will ultimately translate in progress for the whole country.
Meanwhile Kamanga said that is it was refreshing to catch some action across the league which resumed last weekend.
Kamanga is hopeful that this season will be better than last season because teams have given some sense of appreciation of improved game management especially around stadium safety and security
“It is our prayer that we do not have to resort to extreme disciplinary measures to curb some of the ugly incidences we witnessed in the previous season. There should be no room for thuggery and hooliganism in our game,” Kamanga said.
Kamanga also congratulated Chipata United for winning the play offs to replaced suspended Buildcon FC in the National Division One League.
Kamanga said that it is encouraging to see that the National Division One league extends beyond the traditional power houses.
On the 2023 FIFA Womens WORLD Cup which was finally scooped by Spain who defeated England 1-0 in the final Kamanga who congratulated Spain said; “There are plenty of lessons from the 2023 FIFA Women World Cup that we were privileged to be part of. It is now time to conduct a thorough postmortem and build on the world cup experience. Our eyes now are on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualifiers and the WAFCON qualifiers that commence soon.”
