FAZ: Kamanga alludes to trouble in football house, urges candidates to step away from courtroom battles

Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president, Andrew Kamanga, has criticised some candidates vying for the FAZ presidency for turning football into a legal battleground.

Kamanga stressed the need to keep the discourse centered on football development rather than using the campaign as a platform for grandstanding or preaching values that are not practiced.

In a post shared on the FAZ Facebook page on Monday, May 5, 2025, Kamanga expressed concern over the prolonged election season, saying it was damaging the core business of football.

“In a season when we should be celebrating our under-17 boys’ and girls’ qualification to the FIFA World Cup, and our under-20 lads competing in the Africa Cup of Nations, we seem to be turning football into a courtroom,” he said.

He emphasized that the call to serve should be about growing the game through coherent programs that would increase the number of national teams qualifying for the FIFA World Cup and competing for trophies.

Kamanga said the nation should be planning to expand youth development by introducing national teams at the U-13, U-11, and U-9 levels in the next cycle.

“We have seen the monumental impact of our under-15 national team, which laid the foundation for all our U-17 teams qualifying for the World Cup,” he noted.

He added that these developmental strides were part of the FAZ 10-year strategic plan aimed at building a strong senior national team.

Kamanga also highlighted the rise of the women’s game, noting that it was a result of deliberate restructuring and investment in grassroots development and coaching.

He pointed to the achievements of the Copper Queens, including Olympic qualifications (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024), a historic FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance (Australia & New Zealand 2023), a third-place finish at WAFCON 2022, and back-to-back U-17 FIFA World Cup qualifications (Dominican Republic 2024 and Morocco 2025).

While acknowledging that FAZ’s development model had its limitations, Kamanga said it has been consistently refined and continues to show promise.

“We are now at a stage of consolidating our gains and striving to reach the heights our country desperately needs,” he said.

Kamanga urged all candidates to uphold a civil campaign.

He also announced that Zambia would soon welcome a high-level delegation from FIFA, CAF, and COSAFA, following the postponed Annual General Meeting in Livingstone on March 29, 2025.

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