WITH the CHAN tournament getting underway this weekend in Morocco, it will be a welcome distraction from the cholera epidemic that has taken centre stage in our nation.
I understand that the cholera situation is a matter of life and death that cannot be likened to sports. What I do know though is that it has affected sports and the community at large in ways not envisaged a couple of months ago when it was reported in Lusaka.
The banning of public gathering meant sporting activities as well had to be halted and the situation looks set to continue as new cases of cholera continue to pop up in the country.
Our people are living in fear of the disease especially in the capital city Lusaka where the large number of patients hails from. Lives have been disrupted in one way or the other with traders heavily affected as trading places have been shut.
So the CHAN will offer an escape from the cholera reality and our boys should play their hearts out for the people here at home to give them the much needed cheer.
Wedson Nyirenda lads warmed up with a 3-1 win against Orlando Pirates in South Africa on their way to Morocco and we hope it spurs them to do even better at the tournament.
Nyirenda has both the talent and pedigree in his squad to make it to the latter stages of the competition but they should go and win the whole thing as the coach put it.
I think the technical bench has the best players who are locally based and we should go to Morocco to challenge for the title and try to make amends for missing out on some of the premier CAF tournaments of late.
We have a proud history to defend on the continent especially at this type of competition and the squad Wada has picked has the talent and experience playing at the high level except a few but it is generally loaded with experience. The nation is expectant.
What has been the Achilles heel for the Zambian teams of late has been the defending. While the team looks good going forward they are a mess when questions are asked of the defense. This problem starts with age group teams from the under-17 to the senior Chipolopolo and it is time the coaches put a stop to it.
We have Afcon 2019 qualifiers on the horizon and this is a perfect opportunity to shore up the defense so we are solid going into the next  phase of qualifiers as the backbone of our defense is the same CHAN team players. They should know that they are auditioning.
For the other fringe players it’s an opportunity to prove they are worth selection in the Chipolopolo proper especially Lazarous Kambole and Alex Ng’onga to finally win over the fans as well as Adrian Chama who has been ever present but questions have been asked about his abilities.
All the best. Bring it home.
Keep the conversation @LukhandaSamuel or samuellukhanda@gmail.com