THE 2024 Paris Olympic Games should serve as a lesson and an inspiration for the Copper Queens following their disastrous outing that saw them bow out of the competition without a point.
Zambia lost all its three group games including a 3-0 defeat against the Unit Stats the blew up 5-2 lead to lose 6-5 to Australia in a match the team needed to win to put the campaign back on track and lost the final game 4-1 to Germany.
The Bruce Mwape-tutored side set a record Zambia did not want to gain when they exited without a point, a far cry from their delayed Tokyo 2020 Games when they showed purpose and earned a draw on their way out.
Thus, the Copper Queens unsuccessful outing has left many with a lot of questions especially concerning the tactical inability of the technical bench and the far-fetched vision of coming to the party.
It was visible in the match against Australia that technical bench lacked tactics and that was evidenced by the decisions made and the failure to read the game, especially after blowing up a healthy 5-2 lead against Australia. A worse possible outcome should have been a draw atleast.
On many clear instances, the technical bench proved blunt and kept watching players fail to string more than five passes with their uncoordinated style of play. There was also sadly that element of self actualisation and some dubious defending in that match and one could not rule out betting.
Secondly, the biggest debate and question is it the right time to free coach Bruce Mwape? If he stays, then what needs to be done to help him?
To help the coach, FAZ must ensure that he goes for the CAF pro license between now the Women’s Africa cup of Nations (WAFCON). Mwape has an opportunity to go for capacity building but FAZ needs to be very clear on this matter.
Is the association willing to fire him or will he go on leave or will they find someone to help his incapability?
But there is a danger always that the problem that might be brought might to take up the top post permanently and again there is need to be careful against bringing someone who will just bread more animosity.
So if Bruce gets the chops then will FAZ manage to find a coach who has achieved more than him to take over because currently, whether people like it or not, Bruce stands out among all the Zambian coaches because his works speaks volume and will need to tread carefully.
Is it the right time for an expatriate coach to take over women’s football? Clearly yes, but we need to be conscious about who we bring in and whether FAZ has the capacity to pay the high figures these coaches demand compared to the peanuts Bruce gets.
There is need for rejuvenation for both the coaching stuff and the playing system. For instance, there has been concern on with lack quality in midfield even during the qualifiers.
One would ask, does that team even have a natural holding midfielder? All the three games we won during the qualifiers, the team played with a makeshift midfield.
The Mwape led bench has groomed the team already and what remains is putting some icing on the cake.
Bruce can do with some rest and finally go for his delayed CAF elite course that he thoroughly deserves.
But the question is what are the options because now every carpenter wanting to enhance their CV’s will want this job because they know it now has a prestigious profile and it’s a plug and play team.
Have a wonderful sporting weekend and hope we can land a medal or two from Team Zambia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and remember to interact via email eliaschipepo@gmail.com