‘Progress’ excites FAZ

SUN SPORTS writes@SunZambianTHE Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) says it is happy with the steady progress made by the Chipolopolo as it builds up for the Africa Cup of Nation (AfCON) qualification and the African Nations Championship (CHAN).And FAZ president Andrew Kamanga has praised government for reaffirming it’s commitment to help the Chipolopolo prepare adequately for the AfCON qualifiers and the CHAN set for January 2021 in Cameroon.“We are very happy that government reaffirmed its commitment toward the support of the senior men’s national team.“Honourable Emmanuel Mulenga also assured the technical bench of maximum support during their assignments. There could not have been any greater news as we prepare for the double header clash against Botswana next month,” Kamanga said.Kamanga also hailed the Ministry of Sports for giving direction on the possibility of having fans in the stadia during the international matches ahead.Zambia will host Botswana on 12 November before the return leg in Gaborone four days later.“We have been guided to engage the Ministry of Health to ensure that we provide a fool-proof plan. We have been engaging various stakeholders and we are hopeful that we will be given the green light to allow a limited number of fans in the stadia with strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines,” he said.The FAZ chief said the association is doing it’s part to engaging the national team technical bench led by Serbian coach Milutun “Micho” Sredojevic on their program that will help the team prepare under the best possible conditions.“Our national team comprising local players will this week play two international friendly matches against Ethiopia and South Sudan. It is these kind of preparations that we hope will give our local players more mileage in their legs as we build towards the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and also the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in January next year,” he said.Meanwhile, Kamanga has hailed local clubs for making available their players for national team duty.He said it is the support by all stakeholders that will ensure that the Zambian national team progresses. The Sun