By SANDRA MWILA –

COACH Chris Kaunda says he takes full blame for the Zambia Under-17 soccer team’s early elimination from the ongoing Niger 2015 Africa Junior Championship.
Kaunda said he does not blame the players for the group stage exit but that he takes full responsibility of the outcome as the tournament acted as a learning process for the lads.
He said this in an interview upon arrival at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) in Lusaka yesterday from Niger where the team won one match and lost the other two.
Zambia started the campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Guinea before beating hosts Niger 2-1 and then suffered a 3-1 thumping to Nigeria to miss out on a place at the Chile 2015 FIFA World Cup finals.
“It was important for Zambia to be represented at a high level tournament and let me repeat, it was a good investment and Zambia is almost certain of playing at the World Cup in the near future” he said.
Kaunda said the team will remain focused and continue to develop for them to achieve good results ahead of future competitions.
He said a lot of positives were drawn from the tournament and that the players, coaches and administrators acquired experience.
Kaunda said despite their early exit from the competition, the players played well and have learnt a number of lessons for the future.
“Yes we lost, but it is not because we did not play well, the boys played good football. It is like a baby when it is born, it is taught to sit, stand and walk but sometimes it falls,” he said.
He regretted that the team failed to qualify for the World Cup as per plan when heading to the competition.
Meanwhile, Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) executive committee member Lee Kawanu said participating at the competition was a great achievement.
Kawanu said no one should be disappointed with the outcome because the boys gained experience and exposure.
“The Africa Junior Championship was a high level tournament and what they learnt will stay with them and yield results in the near future,” he said.
He said the players gained the needed experience and should be commended for being the first Under-17 side in Zambia’s football history to attain qualification to the continental showpiece.
Kawanu called for stakeholders to come on board and help the team, as FAZ alone would not manage.