By SHAMAOMA MUSONDA and GWEN CHIPASULA –

FOOTBALL Association of Zambia (FAZ) has described the 2017 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Under-17 draws as fair and that Zambia fear no one.
Speaking in the wake of Zambia receiving a bye in the first round and only joining the fray in the second round, FAZ chairperson for youth football, Lee Kawanu, said that qualifying to the continental championship was a must.
He said Zambia had reached a level where the challenge was now about reaching the World Cup of the various youth tournaments and making the African championship final needed no compromise.
“It’s a very fair draw. At this stage, our junior teams fear no team in the qualifiers. We have set a precedent that must be maintained, which is to always participate in all junior continental championships,” Kawanu said.
In the draws for the Africa Under-17 championships  which will be held in Madagascar, Zambia will join the battle in the second round where they will play the winners between Sudan and Djibouti on August 6 and the return leg on the weekend of August 19-21.
Kawanu said because of the progressive steps that Zambia has made and has to continue making, the Under-17 just has to get past the qualifiers and thereafter, fight for a World Cup place.
The top three finishers from the respective continental junior championships qualify to the World Cup.
“We are currently working on ensuring that all our junior teams take the next step which is to get to their respective World Cups. So we can’t afford to go backwards by failing to qualify. We have set out programmes for both the Under-17 and Under-20 starting this April,” he said.
And FAZ communications manager Nkweto Tembwe said yesterday that there was nothing to worry about because a team programme was already in place.
“There is nothing to worry about as regards the team. Our former Under-17 coach (Chris Kaunda) who is the current Under-20 coach, is already helping out with talent identification with the Airtel programme that was launched some time last year. So some players will come from there,” he said.
Tembwe also said FAZ was upbeat on the 2017 Africa Under-20 Championships that Zambia is set to host from February 26 to March 12 next year.
He said that all was going according to plan and that by the turn of the year, all will be set for Zambia to host.
He said that the most important thing was for government to allow  hosting of the tournament adding that, the organising committee has already held two meetings on the way forward.
Tembwe added that CAF had conducted the first inspection late last year which yielded positive results.
And Under-20 team coach Chris Kaunda said he has been holding successful talent identification programmes with Airtel in Lusaka for both Under-17 and Under-20 which are part of preparations for the two teams.