By SANDRA MWILA –
SEVENTEEN foreign coaches have applied for the vacant Chipolopolo job.
The job has been available from the time Frenchman Herve Renard ditched Zambia in October, 2013 for Ligue 1 side FC Sochaux.
His assistant Patrice Beaumelle was left in-charge of the team before he equally dumped the team to join Renard with Honour Janza and George Lwandamina all taking charge in an interim capacity.
Failure to qualify for the Gabon 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and with the Russia 2018 World Cup finals to begin, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has set the recruitment of an expatriate coach top priority.
FAZ general secretary Ponga Liwewe confirmed in an interview yesterday that 17 expatriate coaches have applied for the Chipolopolo job.
Liwewe said the list will be reduced to a short list of four candidates who will be interviewed next week with a possibility of a new coach to be employed afterwards.
“All I can say for now is that 17 foreign coaches have applied for the Chipolopolo job. We shall shortlist four names and those will be interviewed by the end of next week.
“If everything goes well, we can have the whole process completed by next week and have a coach in place,” Liwewe said.
Asked on whether funds have been secured to pay for an expatriate coach’s salary, Liwewe said FAZ was still in discussion with Government.
Government had earlier this year hinted that there was no money to pay an expatriate coach and was banking on the cooperate world to come on board and assist with funds.
FAZ president Andrew Kamanga revealed after the Chipolopolo’s failure to qualify to the AFCON finals and subsequent elimination from the COSAFA Castle Cup that Zambia will be guided by an expatriate coach ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.
Kamanga held talks with the likes of Frenchman Phillipie Trousier, who is believed to be the favourite for the job going by his experience, when he was in France for the on-going European football championship.

•Desabre

Others said to be interested about the Chipolopolo job include Beaumelle, Dario Bonnetti, Frenchmen Sebastein Desabre and Bertrand Marchand, and Belgian Tom Saintfiet, who also had talks with Kamanga in France.