FAZ PRESIDENT’S CORNER: Let the Spirit of Easter Re-Invigorate Our Game…scenes from Levy will attract heavy sanction

FAZ PRESIDENT’S CORNER: Let the Spirit of Easter Re-Invigorate Our Game…scenes from Levy will attract heavy sanction

May the joy of our risen Lord be with you our football family! Easter is a season for renewal for the Christian fraternity and we have no doubt the football family can draw a lot from this season. The football family is on the verge of renewing its mandate (direction) which happens every four years. The good news is that finally, after some court induced postponement on March 29, the reconvened FAZ AGM will finally take place on May 9 in Kabwe at Misuku Hotel.

We are hopeful that common sense will prevail this time around especially with the avoidance of seeking recourse for football matters in ordinary courts. On our part, just as we did at the aborted AGM, we will follow the FAZ and FIFA statutes in ensuring we organize an assembly that meets all the legal requirements. After all, transparency and accountability has been the hallmark of our leadership. Most importantly, we availed the membership with the detailed roadmap from the announcement of the date to the holding of the aborted elections. We appreciated the interest from curious observers, not privy to FAZ and FIFA statutes as we rolled out the roadmap but were obliged to ensure that our members were fully informed at every stage.

Understandably, some stakeholders have never appreciated our collaboration with FIFA throughout this process but unfortunately, the global mother body is the ultimate authority on football for its 211 members in the world-Zambia being one of them. By signing up for FIFA membership, we are obligated to follow their rules-simple! FIFA has magnanimously offered to come and attend the Kabwe elective congress despite the embarrassing episode of March 29 in Livingstone.

As we prepare for the May 9 reconvened AGM, we appeal to candidates to remain civil and truthful in their engagement with the electorates. We have curiously witnessed some utopian concepts thrown around in the name of soliciting for support from the membership. It is not our place to question, but we will leave it to the membership to render their ultimate verdict on what may at times sound like the George Orwell propagated Sugar Candy Mountain in Animal Farm.

Finally, our under-17 Women National Team are 90 minutes away from back-to-back FIFA World Cup qualification after beating Benin 2-1 at home on Saturday. The Copper Princesses will be away in Lome, Togo where Benin plays their matches, as they do not have a FIFA approved venue. Togo will provide a neutral like atmosphere, which could help Zambia finish off the job. With the under-17 boys qualifying for the world cup, we are counting on the Copper Princesses to join them.
Our under-20 Men’s National Team commence their AFCON campaign this weekend in Egypt and will have their eyes on world cup qualification as the top four teams at the tournament qualify for the Chile hosted FIFA showpiece. We appeal to the fans to give them all the necessary support for them to fly our flag higher.

We sign off on a disturbing note following ugly scenes at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium where some hooligans masquerading as fans ripped off seats in protest of a penalty given to Power Dynamos against Nkana. The match ended 1-1. With the game being the most popular and biggest advert of our league, there could not have been a worse portrayal of our football. We are barely hanging on to one FIFA approved stadium and cannot afford such levels of barbarism. While it is too early to provide a conclusive picture of what measures will be taken, I can definitely confirm that this behaviour will be heavily punished.

Have a productive week!