• FLASHBACK: LATE President Michael Sata interacting with Chipolopolo players when he visited the Zambian team during the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. Picture by THOMAS NSAMA/STATE HOUSE

By FELIX MALUNGA –

CHIPOLOPOLO coach Honour Janza says qualifying to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals will be a befitting send-off for late Zambia President Michael Sata.
Janza said it would be good for Zambia to qualify for the AFCON next month as a way of thanking President Sata for the support his Government had been rendering to football.
He said one of the late President’s dreams was to see Zambia remain on top of African football as evidenced by the encouragement he gave the team when he visited the Chipolopolo in South Africa before the 2013 AFCON finals.
“The late President’s support was beyond financial because he also enjoyed seeing Zambian football on top. Therefore qualifying to the 2015 AFCON will be a a good send off for him,” Janza said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday.
Janza also said he would stick to the bulk of the players who featured in the recent AFCON qualifiers for the decisive Group F ties against Mozambique and the Cape Verde next month.
The Chipolopolo trainer hinted that he does not want to gamble for the two crucial matches as the period was too short but focus on the tested players.
He, however, said he would invite Armenia-based under-20 midfielder Lubambo Musonda, who has been on song since joining Ulisses from Power Dynamos some three months ago, for next month’s assignments.
Janza said he was also monitoring the progress of strikers Evans Kangwa and Bornwell Mwape at their respective Israeli and South African clubs but ruled them out for the Mozambique and Cape Verde matches.
“We’re checking on Evans Kangwa and Bornwell Mwape from afar. We are not calling them for these two qualifiers. As we qualify to the 2015 AFCON finals, then more players will be assessed. We are not closing our doors for more players,” Janza, who is also FAZ technical director, said.
The camping for local players will begin on November 9 before the foreign legion join the squad ahead of the November 15 match in Mozambique.
Four days, later Zambia will host Cape Verde at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola to wrap up the qualifying campaign.
Zambia are second on the log on five points with Mozambique but the Chipolopolo have a better goal difference while Cape Verde lead Group F which also has tail-enders, Niger.
The top two teams in the group will qualify to the 2015 AFCON finals.