ZAMBIANS finally got a relief after Cabinet put a seal of approval for the staging of the 20th edition of the Africa Under-20 Championship in 2017.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) had in 2013 given Zambia partial rights to host the Africa Under-20 Championship but still needed Government’s commitment towards the event.
With Government backing assured, Zambia is now set to stage for the first time a continental football showpiece.
The success of this tournament will put the nation in good steady to organise bigger assignments like the Africa Cup of Nations.
Zambia already boasts of state-of-art stadia in Ndola’s Levy Mwanawasa and Heroes National in Lusaka.
So in terms of infrastructure, Zambia could have even hosted the event yesterday.
However, merely hosting of this event will not satisfy the nation.
Zambians want to see a successful tournament and also the national under-20 winning the African title.
It will be fitting for Zambia to both host and win the continental crown.
While Government will ensure that all logistics were in place for the tournament, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) needs to begin identifying potential players who can take the nation to the podium.
FAZ should come up with an ambitious programme to build an all-conquering team capable of towering above other top African nations.
Programmes such as the ongoing Airtel Talent Search should be utilised now identify players who can sparkle in the next two years.
FAZ need to have a deliberate policy of not losing track of such talent including those players who light up the annual COPA Coca-Cola Schools.
These players should then be blended with those in the current under-17 squad who should be ready for the challenges in 2017.
Since Zambia as hosts will not be involved in the qualifiers, the onus will be on FAZ to organise quality international friendly matches to help galvanise the squad.
The CAF Under-20 event will also act as a qualifier to the 2017 FIFA Under-20 World Cup finals to be hosted by South Korea.
After performing poorly at the 2015 tournament in Senegal, Zambia needs to dust itself up and qualify to the World Cup for the third time.
That qualification to the South Korea finals should be complemented with a triumph in the eight-team continental championship. For comments contact malungaf@gmail.com