By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE –

FOOTBALL Association of Zambia (FAZ) life member, Moses Kabaila Snr says the performance of Zambian clubs in the CAF interclub competitions will only improve if the league becomes competitive.
Kabaila said shifting the league season from the current March to December to the period August to May in conformity with the FIFA calendar would not be in the best interest of Zambia’s football because of the weather pattern.
“The current league calendar suits Zambia’s weather pattern and I think adopting the FIFA calendar cannot work well here because of the rainy season, so the solution is not to change the league calendar but to ensure that the league is competitive,” Kabaila said.

. Kabaila Snr

Kabaila said this in reaction to veteran football administrator Simataa Simataa.
Simataa suggested that the league calendar had a negative impact on the performance of Zambian teams in the CAF games following the first round exists of Zesco United and Power Dynamos from the 2015 CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup respectively.
He said it is difficult for teams to adjust to competitive football in the CAF competitions that kick off in February when the domestic league is on recess.
But Kabaila, a former Strike Rovers coach, said improving the league competitiveness is the only solution.
Kabaila said on account of lacking competition, Zambia’s domestic league has failed to attract foreign coaches and players save for Kabwe Warriors’ Egyptian coach Mohamed Fathy and a few players in some clubs.
“Our league is not competitive enough as compared with other countries like South Africa and that’s why we are having a top scorer with only 15 goals. Countries that have competitive leagues attract a mix of players from across Africa and this leads to good performance in CAF games,” he said.
Kabaila, who is also former Zambia Football Coaches Association (ZAFCA) vice secretary, said the FAZ technical directorate headed by Honour Janza and the coaches association should be concerned when teams produce dismal performances at CAF interclub tournaments.
“I have never seen or heard the FAZ technical directorate and ZAFCA sit down with concerned coaches to find out why they performed badly. This should be routine because it’s the only way to finds out challenges they face and come up with remedial measures,” he said.