By FELIX MALUNGA –

DESPITE presenting arguably one of the best bids, Zambia’s dream of winning the right to stage the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2019 seems to be in tatters following a vicious campaign by North and West African nations.
With the Confederation of African Football (CAF) set to announce the successful bidder in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia tomorrow, Zambia is disadvantaged by two major factors compared to the four other contenders – Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Guinea.
According to Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) general secretary, George Kasengele, Zambia’s chances for the 2019 AFCON bid are still 50-50 with other competing nations but the Southern African nation is at a disadvantage.
Speaking in an interview from Addis Ababa on Wednesday evening, Kasengele said while Zambia boasts of infrastructure compared to other bidders, two issues could work against the nation’s bidding process.
Kasengele said the fact that two of the last three AFCON tournaments were held in Southern Africa – Angola in 2010 and 2013 in South Africa, Zambia was disadvantaged.
The second technicality, he said, was that Zambia unlike other contenders has never hosted any CAF major tournament and would only have such an opportunity in 2017 when the nation stages the African Youth Championship.
Kasengele said Zambia was faced with a tough competition because the lobbying from Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Algeria was too strong.
He observed that after Algeria, Zambia probably had the best infrastructure on the ground compared to the other three nations.
Apart from boasting of two state-of-art facilities in the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium and National Heroes Stadium, Zambia also gave CAF an assurance that Nkoloma and Konkola stadiums would also be upgraded as match venues.
He, however, said Zambians should not lose hope because even the countries which were also bidding for the 2019 AFCON may withdraw before that time.
While other countries are also bidding for the 2021 AFCON, Zambia is only eyeing the 2019 edition.
Kasengele noted that what was of paramount importance was that Zambia’s bid would remain with CAF.
The FAZ general secretary said the fact that Zambia were the hosts for the 2017 African Youth Championship, puts the nation in pole position for future CAF competitions.
CAF will hold a Press conference tomorrow at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa at 18:00 hours local time (17:00 hours Zambian time) to announce the hosts for the 32nd and 33rd AFCON editions.
Zimbabwe is meanwhile courting Zambia to push in a joint bid for the 2017 AFCON after the withdrawal of Libya.
Reports in Zimbabwe suggest that Zifa Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Mashingaidze and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief Karikoga Kaseke were in Zambia to sell their idea hoping to attract the Zambians into their project.
According to Kickoff, Mashingaidze met the secretary general of the Football Association of Zambia George Kasengele while Kaseke met the tourist authorities to impress on the benefits of co-hosting.