No stone unturned

…FAZ doing everything possible to ensure Zambia prepares adequately for the AFCON says Kamanga 

By MICHAEL MIYOBA 

THE Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) doing its best to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the Chipolopolo boys are adequately prepared when they walk onto the pitch on January 17 to play their first match against DR Congo at the Africa Cup of Nations which kicks off this weekend in Cote d Ivoire.

FAZ President Andrew Kamanga said FAZ has already dispatched an advance party in Ivory Coast to ensure that when the team arrives in San Pedro everything will be in place.

Kamanga said FAZ has been liaising with government to make sure that the team requirements are in place ahead of the tournament. 

He said FAZ provided with a checklist in tandem with the needs of a team that aspires to win the AFCON.

On the teams international camp in Saudi Arabia where they are scheduled to face Cameroon in an international friendly match today Kamanga said; “It was always important for the team to prepare in an environment with world class facilities and be able to fully concentrate on the forthcoming tournament. We were lucky that our foreign based players reported for camp on schedule giving the technical bench enough time to prepare for the tournament.”

Kamanga implored the public to support the Chipolopolo throughout the tournament as he is confident that the team led by coach Avram Grant will reciprocate the faith.

Meanwhile, Kamanga has described the under-17 women national selection trials as a success after all the 10 provinces were given an opportunity to audition for possible national team places.

“It was good to see some of the technical experts trained by our technical directorate take charge of the selection process,” Kamanga said.

“What we saw was one of the benefits of decentralization. This is the model that we intend to consistently use especially for junior teams. Naturally, matters of selection invoke emotions but we are happy that we were able to provide a platform for national selectors to window shop for talent across the 10 provinces,” he said 

Kamanga noted that the FAZ technical directorate will keep track of all the promising talents spotted under the program for possible inclusion for future assignments. 

He said the Associations desire is to keep refining the concept of player selection to ensure that it delivers to the expectations of all stakeholders.