GRANT LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR ZAMBIAN PLAYERS DESPITE SAKALA CONTROVERSY
GRANT LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR ZAMBIAN PLAYERS DESPITE SAKALA CONTROVERSY
Zambia National Team Coach, Avram Grant, has stated that the door remains open for any Zambian player to join the national squad.
This statement came in response to questions about his continued exclusion of Fashion Sakala from international call-ups following a public falling out after the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in January.
Grant suggested that Sakala’s absence has been prolonged due to his outburst in an audio interview with Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) Communications Officer, Sydney Mungala.
In the interview, Sakala accused Grant of excluding him from the national team because he refused to sign with a soccer agent closely linked to the coach.
Sakala further alleged that Grant prefers to select players who are associated with this agent.
During the unveiling of the 26-member provisional squad for the upcoming 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Chad, Grant emphasized that no player is bigger than the team.
He criticized Sakala’s public condemnation of his fellow players and the coach as ill-timed.
Grant mentioned that the issue could be resolved if Sakala reaches out, recalling a similar situation with a Ghanaian captain during his tenure as coach in West Africa, which was eventually resolved.
FAZ President, Andrew Kamanga, has promised to update the public once the investigation into the matter concludes, following the leaked audio months ago.