FIFA course to revamp business football

By BENEDICT TEMBO

FOOTBALL Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Keith Mweemba believes world soccer governing body, FIFA, will improve Zambian club operations, especially on matters around income generation and commercialisation through the Professionalisation and Management course taking place in Ndola.
“We have to reach a point where our clubs are not just striving to score on the pitch but off it,” Mweemba said during the opening of the course yesterday.
He was happy to note that the workshop will cover critical areas like strategic planning, governance, finance, club licensing, commercial and marketing.
“I have no doubt that after weaving our way through this highly educative programme, we will elevate our game to the next level. Most importantly, we will equip our club administrators with knowledge, skills and tools they need to operate in a modern football ecosystem,” Mweemba said.
He said the FIFA Club Professionalisation and Management workshop could not have come at a better time than now as the world is living at a time where words like club licensing have become the catchword for every football operation.
“Many of our clubs are having it tough to match up to the standards that global football management demands. We cannot escape the high standards of management demanded by Cosafa, CAF and FIFA as we fit in the greater global football agenda,” Mweemba said.
He said the high bar set by FIFA required that “we elevate our knowledge to match up to these very high standards.”
Mweemba said to match up to these standards required a cadre of highly trained personnel to manage our clubs.
“It is for this reason that when FIFA approved our request for this very important programme, my administration quickly swung into action to actualise this workshop,” he said, thanking FIFA for having heeded the call by FAZ to upskill its administrators.
Mweemba urged administrators to take the opportunity with both hands and help take the game to the next level.
Also in attendance is the FIFA head of Development Progrmmes, Solomon Mudege.
Others are FIFA Regional Office Lead, David Fani, a former Botswana Football Association employee, Member Associations Development Manager, Sanda Rasoamahenina from the Johannesburg office and FIFA Consultant, Spaniard Marcos Pelegrin.
Pelegrin has been leading the Club Management Programme on behalf of FIFA, working with clubs and leagues, FAZ vice president, Mutale Ng’andu, FAZ general secretary, Machacha Shepande and Zambian Premier League Executive Director, Joseph Chimpampwe.