TIME and again there have been calls for the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) to wean itself from the Premier League.
Those who have been championing the separation of the two argue that an independent league will become more attractive and competitive.
They say the league will be able to attract more sponsors and top foreign players and coaches, thereby becoming more professional.
However, on the flip side, Football House argues that the current scenario where FAZ runs the league has not brought any problems and that it is running just smoothly and able to attract sponsors.
Currently in Zambia, only the Super League consisting 16 teams is sponsored by mobile telecommunication giants, MTN Zambia and Africa’s pay television supremos, SuperSport.
On the other side, FAZ has been struggling to get sponsors for the lower leagues.
In South Africa for example, the Premier Soccer League (PSL) has been running independently since 1996 like a company which acts as a governing body and competition organiser.
The PSL is affiliated to the South African Football Association (SAFA) but SAFA do not govern the PSL competitions.
However, teams relegated from the PSL leagues compete in the SAFA-organised National First Division which is the second-highest league in that country. SAFA is also in charge of all national teams.
But SAFA usually faces some problems with PSL when it comes to getting players from the local clubs for international engagements like the regional COSAFA Cup and to some extent even CAF organised tournaments like the African Nations Championship (CHAN).
South African clubs have a habit of refusing to release players for international duty.
In the English scenario, the FA’s main commercial asset is its ownership of the rights to England internationals and the FA Cup.
The FA’s income does not include the turnover of English football clubs, which are independent businesses. The Premier League negotiates television contracts for its games.
In most European nations, the clubs are members of both the league and the FA while in the case of England, all competitive clubs are members of FA.
The top 20 teams in England are also members of the Premier League, a separate organisation from FA.
Whether this kind of arrangement can work in Zambia is something that the local football stakeholders need to critically look at.  For your usual contributions and comments email: malungaf@gmail.com.