CAF Unveils Dates For AFCON, FIFA Qualifiers
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unveiled dates for the final stretch of the Cameroon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers,” according to FAZ President Andrew Kamanga.
“It was a breath of fresh air given the stress that the football family like any other aspect of our lives has endured under the weight of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Kamanga writes.
:The qualifiers were put off in March 2020 after the Covid-19 engulfed the entire continent shutting out borders and grounding football activities everywhere. A lot has happened since then with football making a steady return in some parts of the continent,” he explains.
“On our part we have been assessing the situation and were able to conclude our Super League and National Division One by playing up to Week 27. We had always stressed that completely shutting out football would have a huge bearing on our international engagements. Part of the reason we were determined to see football return subject to an improvement in the Covid-19 situation was to retain the competitiveness of our Chipolopolo and other national teams,” Kamanga continued.
With the AFCON qualifiers now expected to resumed in November the national team now has two months before back-to-back Group H fixtures against Botswana.
Ahead of then there may be the 2021 Cosafa Senior Challenge in October in South Africa.
Kamanga noted FAZ was happy to see some foreign based players are back to competitive duty in their respective leagues.
“In Europe we have Fashion Sakala (KV Oostende), Emanuel Banda, Edward Chilufya (IF Djurgardens), Enock Mwepu, Patson Daka (Red Bull Salzburg), Evans Kangwa, Kings Kangwa and Lameck Banda (Arsenal Tula). Our technical bench are keeping tabs on many other European based players of Zambian descent that they may consider in their plans. It is something that we have left to them to gauge the competitiveness of these players and provide technical judgment,” Kamanga sets out.
“We are happy with the news coming out of Red Bull Salzburg as Daka and Mwepu continue to make progress and attracting interest all over Europe. Their success will surely inspire many other players to work hard and trek to Europe,” he continues.
“On the continent some leagues have opened with the South African Premier League getting underway where a host of our players are based. The same as Tanzania that is also a growing destination for some Zambian players.”
“All these signs point to our players being in good shape once the technical bench starts their preparations.”
“Domestically we are liaising with the technical bench to kick-start preparations for the forthcoming international engagements. We also have our eyes on the Cameroon 2021 CHAN that kicks off in January. I am aware that two international friendly matches are lined for October against the United Arab Emirates. The reason is simple as it would be easier to gather all our foreign players in that region and also fly our domestic contingent under the Covid-19 restrictions. We also hope to benefit from the platform the Cosafa provides for our local players. We are doing everything possible to resuscitate our AFCON campaign where we lie at the bottom with zero points after two matches. Our final four matches will be played as cup finals. The campaign will conclude in March 2021 with a home match against Algeria and an away tie to Zimbabwe.”
:The race for Qatar 2022 where we will start on equal footing will be crucial with Zambia drawn in Group B alongside Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and Mauritania. Table toppers will qualify to the final round that will be played on a two-legged knock out format.”
“We believe with good preparations, we should be able to bounce back among the continental heavies. We will be banking on maximum support from all Zambians as we fight to take Zambia to its first World Cup,” Kamanga concludes.
