FAZ Elections Shift to 2025:
Understanding the Delay FAZ elections
The FAZ elections that are taking place in 2025 were initially scheduled for 2024. According to the 2016 election calendar, the next FAZ election was supposed to happen in 2020. However, a dispute between a government official targeting a specific FAZ official at that time caused a delay. This conflict lasted for a year, which resulted in the elections being held in 2021 instead. Interestingly, despite this drama, the Executive remained in office and served a five-year term instead of the usual four years. Even in 2025 do people still want to go the same route? Current office bearers will remain in office until elections are conducted.
The National Sports Council of Zambia (NSCZ), held a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday, where CEO, Sombwa Musunsa, stated that after February 28, 2025, Andrew Kamanga and the current executive of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) will not be recognized.
According to Sombwa, the recommendations from the Attorney General is that by February 28, the tenure of the current FAZ executive will have come to an end. Therefore, FAZ must hold its elections by February 28 and not later.
However, Sombwa did not provide the election roadmap. The FAZ elective annual general meeting is the culmination of provincial elections. Provinces are supposed to hold elections to choose provincial chairpersons who make up FAZ Executive committee members.
According to FIFA approved elections road map produced by the electoral committee last month, provincial elections will start with southern Province on March 15, 2025, while Lusaka, Central, North Western, and Copperbelt will hold their elective congresses on March 16, 17, 18, and 19, respectively.
The committee disclosed that the final cycle will see Luapula, Northern, Muchinga, Western, and Eastern holding their elective conferences on March 20, 21, 22, 25, and 27 in that order.
We have ONE QUESTION for Sombwa Musunsa. Today is 20th February 2025, 7 days before 28th February. When are the provincial and Zambia Premier League election dates?
Here is why we find NSCZ directive misguided and misplaced, Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) as an Independent Body and enjoys the following
1. Autonomy: FAZ is an autonomous organization, meaning it has the freedom to govern and manage its affairs independently.
2. Constitution: FAZ has its own constitution, which outlines its objectives, structures, and decision-making processes.
3. Membership: FAZ is a member of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
4. Decision-Making: FAZ’s decision-making processes are independent of government interference, ensuring that the organization can make decisions in the best interests of Zambian football.
Finally
On the other hand, I want to commend Zambia Premier League (ZPL) Chairman Kephas Katongo for taking the right step by appealing his disqualification from the upcoming FAZ elections.
It’s great to see him taking a proactive approach, believing his case is unique and hoping the appeal process will overturn the elections committee’s ruling.
This is exactly what all other disqualified candidates should be doing – appealing their DISQUALIFICATION instead of wasting time vaulting from one office to another seeking means that will not help.
Those tactics being used by some candidates will only prolong Andrew Kamanga’s and his current executive’s stay in office. It’s essential to understand that the FAZ executive committee can’t be removed like a constituency executive committee of a political party.
Even if FIFA were to ban Zambia as others are wishing, hoping and praying for, it doesn’t mean they are automatically removed from office, NO, they will be there and our young talents would be the ones to suffer, missing out on opportunities to shine on the continental and world stage. It’s our mothers selling groundnuts at the stadia that will suffer, our venders selling water and drinks that will suffer them will remain comfortable eating.
Martin Akende
Football Governance Expert
Media and Communications Consultant
