.Simaata

By SANDRA MWILA –

VETERAN sports administrator, Simataa Simataa says the divisions in the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) executive committee and biased player selection have greatly contributed to the poor results being recorded by the Chipolopolo.
Simataa said Zambia risked missing out on qualifying for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Gabon if the current problems were not resolved.
He said in an interview yesterday that FAZ had three groups within its executive led by president Kalusha Bwalya, his vice president Boniface Mwamelo and the other by committee member, Richard Kazala.
“The performance of the Chipolopolo speaks volumes about the FAZ administration, it is divided and it’s being headed by three functions. One group is being led by Kalusha, the other by Mwamelo and Kazala leading the other.
“With this current administration problem, Zambia risks missing out on the 2017 AFCON finals,” Simataa said.
He said the national team selection was biased when it came to international tournaments due to administrative interference.
“The national team selection is done for two reasons, to expose would-be players on sale and players on sale that need to be rehabilitated when they start underperforming at their clubs, players are also selected on names and not merit,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zambia Football Coaches Association (ZAFCA) president Patrick Kangwa has urged FAZ to evaluate the team performances and ratify mistakes before the 2017 AFCON qualifiers begin.
Kangwa said in a separate interview that while the early exit from the COSAFA senior challenge was disappointing, it was also a lesson for the future.
“We have learnt a lesson from the failure at the COSAFA and failure builds back better. What FAZ needs to do is evaluate the performance and ratify areas of concern going into the qualifiers.
“FAZ needs to identify where they are going wrong. Is it administration, coaches or players and work on those areas,” he said.
Chipolopolo Soccer Fans Association (CSFA) chairperson Yotam Mwanza said there was need to beef up the national team technical bench.
Mwanza said FAZ should consider drafting in the likes of Patrick Phiri and Fighton Simukonda to help out Honour Janza, especially when the AFCON qualifiers start.
“It has been noted that the technical bench is lacking and needs to be beefed up with the likes of Patrick and Fighton. Looking at employing an expatriate coach a month before qualifiers will not be beneficial,” he said.