By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE and SHAMAOMA MUSONDA –

SOCCER fans bodies and the Zambia Football Coaches Association (ZAFCA) have expressed concern at the way the various national soccer teams have been eliminated from their respective continental championships.
ZAFCA vice-president Lewis Shambulo has since urged the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) to draw lessons from the early exits of the various national teams at international competitions.
Shambulo said yesterday that in as much as the players at all levels have gained enough experience of playing at the big stage, there is urgent need to address the lapses that were spotted during the three outings.
The Chipolopolo suffered a first round elimination at the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea before the Under-17 and 20 side’s encountered similar fate at the Africa Junior and Youth Championships respectively.
“We need to learn from the mistakes made and put in place corrective measures. Things like late arrival for the tournament and lack of adequate preparations should come to an end,” Shambulo said.
He said Zambia should reclaim its status as a powerhouse of football on the African continent as was the case in the past.
Shambulo said a strong foundation for the Chipolopolo squad had been laid in the lower ranks and that what is important is to retain all the junior players for future assignments.
The ZAFCA also recommended that FAZ should find senior coaches to beef up the technical bench of each junior team competing at an important tournament owing to the vast experience they possess.
Meanwhile, Chipolopolo Soccer Fans Association (CSFA) president Yotham Mwanza said that the overall performance of the under-20 team at the tournament was bad and attributed it to poor preparations.
“The 5-2 mauling we got at the hands of South Africa plus the two earlier losses in the group stage shows our lack of proper preparations for the Africa under-20 tournament.
What we needed to do is to expose the boys to about three to four international friendly games both at home and away before going to such a tournament. We reaped what we sowed,” he said.
Mwanza, however, said instead of crying over spilt milk, it was important that Zambia drew lessons for the future.
Zambia Sports Fans Association (ZASPOFA) strongman Peter Makembo said he was disappointed with the performance of all national football teams at international tournaments.
“This is really unacceptable. We cannot be booted out at group stage all the time. There must be a problem somewhere and it’s either the administrators, coaches or the players but ultimately a solution should be found soon,” he said.