• FROM left to right; CAF head of inspection delegation Amadou Diakite, FAZ president Kalusha Bwalya, inspectors Amr Fahmy and Paul Bassey listen to FAZ general secretary George Kasengele during inspection of Nkana Stadium in Kitwe yesterday. Picture by FRANCINA CHOMBA

By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE and FRANCINA CHOMBA –
FOOTBALL Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Kalusha Bwalya is happy that Zambia has met the expectations of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) inspection team in view of the country’s bid to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Kalusha, who is heading the FAZ delegation in the ongoing inspections, told journalists in Chingola yesterday that the country had shown its capacity to stage the continental football showpiece.
The CAF executive committee member said the facilities that had been presented to the inspection team were of high standards and that FAZ was looking forward to winning the bid.
“I think we have done what they (Inspectors) expected to see during the tour, the facilities that we have are good and we are very confident that we have the capacity to host the 2019 AFCON.
I would like to commend the Minister of Sports for his support and commitment and I must say, we have all it takes to host the tournament,” he said.
The CAF inspectors wound up their tour of the Copperbelt yesterday, having assessed Konkola Stadium in Chililabombwe as a venue and Chingola’s Watson and Nchanga stadia which have been proposed as training facilities.
Other facilities that were inspected included Konkola Mine Hospital (KMH) in Chililabombwe, Icon Hotel and Mokorro Lodge before the CAF inspectors also toured Arthur Davies and Nkana stadia in Kitwe as training venues.
Sports Minister Chishimba Kambwili assured the inspectors that the government had earmarked Konkola Stadium for upgrade from its current 15, 000 capacity to over 20, 000.
Kambwili said Konkola Stadium had already played host to 2010 AFCON and World Cup qualifiers and that the facility was to be given a facelift.
“This facility has hosted crucial African and World Cup qualifiers and as government, we will see to it that this stadium is upgraded to the CAF standards. We have not experienced any incidences of insecurity or fatalities here (Konkola Stadium) and local people are soccer lovers who troop to this facility to watch games,” Kambwili said.
The Sports Minister also allayed the fears by the CAF officials about the lack of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine at Ndola Central and Konkola Mine Hospitals, saying government was in the process to installing the equipment at Ndola Central Hospital, which is the second highest referral centre in the country.
His sentiments came after CAF inspectors repeatedly inquired about the availability of the equipment at the Copperbelt Hospitals.
KMH director of medical services Mulenga Kumi said the hospital was highly equipped to handle any surgical operations and other medical services.
Kumi said KMH had a well coordinated emergence response system that was always geared to respond to patients’ needs on a daily basis.
“We have modern facilities that can be used to handle possible emergencies and accidents and currently, we offer our services to over 5000 Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) employees in Chililabombwe.
Looking at the magnitude of the AFCON tournament, we would be ready to handle any cases,” she said.
The inspectors will today be in Livingstone to check on the facilities that include the proposed site for the construction of the ultra-modern stadium that would play host to some games, Maramba Stadium as a training venue, health facilities and hotels among others.