By GWEN CHIPASULA –
ZAMBIA this morning commence their quest to be regional champions as they open the 2016 Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) under-17 championship with a tie against tournament invitees Kenya in Mauritius.
Kenya were only added to this prestigious tournament as a guest team after Mozambique withdrew from the competition.
Zambia under-17 team coach, Oswald Mutapa said the team was more than ready for today’s clash which will be played at Saint Franscois Xavier Stadium in Mauritius.
Mutapa and his charges left the country on Tuesday with the coach saying the team had fully acclimatised to the weather and will come back with the trophy.
“We are ready. We prepared for the tournament not just for one team. So, Kenya will not be a big problem, Mauritius is hot and it is raining, but I am happy that the change in the weather pattern has not disturbed the boys in any way,” Mutapa said.
Zambia who beat Zimbabwe in the final the last time the competition was held to win  the title, were drawn in Group B of this tournament together with Madagascar and rivals Malawi.
Warriors v Dynamos
And on the local scene, Kabwe Warriors will today be aiming to collect maximum points against a feeble Lusaka Dynamos after resuming the second round of the season on a losing note to leaders Zanaco.
The match scheduled for Godfrey Chitalu Stadium and to be shown live on SuperSport will see two sides who are desperate for points face off.
After bouncing back to the Super League, Warriors’ coach Mohammad Fathy said he would aim to win the championship but after losing to Zanaco last week, he conceded that the league leaders were in good position to win it.
Fathy will, however, fight for a respectable finish which includes sneaking into second position and book a ticket for next year’s CAF Confederations Cup.
The hosts currently sit on sixth position with 26 points while Dynamos are on 14th position with 18 points.
Warriors’ undoing this season has been the inability to make use of their dominance in possession in most matches, a problem Fathy acknowledges.
“We are struggling upfront. We don’t have many strikers, we only have Josphat Kasusu but we shall fight hard to be in the top four,” Fathy said.
Dynamos will go into the match with a lot of hope and confidence after beating winless Mufulira Blackpool last week, a result which saw them come out of relegation.
The good news for Dynamos is that their talisman Conlyde Luchanga scored recently and they will bank on his prowess in Kabwe today.
Dynamos will also look to Bernard Siasokwe for inspiration while Thomas Kunda and Manasseh Soko will dictate play in the midfield.
Warriors on the other hand will depend on Kasusu for goals upfront with Silon Jere providing the much needed experience.