By Shamaoma musonda –
ENGLISHMAN Irfan Kawri is back in the country and will today be with the Chipolopolo who re-group in Ndola to prepare for the double 2017 African Cup qualifiers against Congo Brazzaville next week.
Kawri was a dramatic addition to the Chipolopolo bench as an assistant coach to George Lwandamina ahead of the Africa Nations Championships (CHAN).
After drilling the team for about a month, the former Zambia under-20 international defender left at short notice just before the CHAN kicked off in Rwanda with FAZ saying the departure was based on the coach’s need to sort out personal issues.
FAZ licensing manager Erick Mwanza yesterday confirmed the return of Kawri and said the hands-on trainer was simply taking over from where he left off.
“Yes, Kawri is back. He has been in the country for a couple of days and he is going straight to the team when it regroups. There is nothing new to say because there is nothing new about his return, its the same old terms.
“He just left to sort out some personal issues and he is back to his position as an assistant coach to George Lwandamina,” Mwanza said.
Kawri is now returning after finishing his UEFA A License and could be in line for a more established position with the Chipolopolo.
Mwanza said Kawri had worked well with the technical bench the last time he was around and that he will carry on with his work.
While he has been away, Kawri has been doing what he has previously done best- which is ‘spying’ on opponents and feeding the technical and tactical data back to the Chipolopolo bench for consideration.
He offered that service at CHAN where Zambia played four games without conceding a goal.