THE Football Association of Zambia, (FAZ) says the decision to resume the MTN/FAZ Super Division lays with Government through the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Child Development and the Ministry of Health.
FAZ president Andrew Kamanga said in an interview that they have submitted recommendations which will have to be approved by Government for the league to start.
“We have given a request to restart all the leagues and the government will guide how that process will happen. We can’t go into the details now because we don’t know whether Government will decide how it’s to be done so everything is speculative as we speak.
“We wrote and we are constantly checking and consulting with the Minister of Sports because at the end of the day it is the ministry of Sports and the ministry of Health to guide,” Kamanga said.
Kamanga said FAZ is focusing on resuming the league which will make it possible for Zambia to start preparing for the AFCON and World Cup qualifiers.
He said the Zambian league will have to be active before preps for CAF games, the AFCON and World Cup qualifiers can resume.
“The key issue is to restart the league which has a bearing on international competitions.
“There is the AFCON qualifiers which have to be played, there is also the World Cup qualifiers so everything is possible between September and the end of the year but for us to go into those programmes we need to be active before we can start preparing,” Kamanga said.
Meanwhile, Government says it is still assessing the recommendation submitted by FAZ for the league to resume.
Youth, Sport and Child Development Minister Emmanuel Mulenga said he would give a comprehensive statement after meeting officials from the Ministry of Health who are expected to regulate the league.
Mulenga said his ministry is determined to see football returning after the ban on contact sports was imposed three months ago due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Waiting game
