The Zambian government has moved to help resurrect national team performances by tapping into the technical know of 1988 African Footballer of the Year Kalusha Bwalya who is set to be appointed as Director of Sports in charge of football development.
A meeting was held between sports minister Elvis Nkandu, permanent secretary Kangwa Chileshe, Kalusha Bwalya and FAZ president Andrew Kamanga to concretize the plan.
The newly created position will see Kalusha assume responsibilities that oversee all national teams, play an influential role in the engagement of national team coach and act as a bridge between FAZ and the government.
Kalusha, who at the time he was FAZ president in 2012, guided Zambia to the Africa Cup of Nations victory is being romped back into football owing to Chipolopolo’s poor string of results that has seen the team fail to qualify to the continental showpiece three times in a row.
The celebrated Zambian football star is expected to develop a football curriculum which will dictate the theory national team will apply. But the development has not been well received by FAZ.
FAZ have not wholly embraced the idea of Kalusha taking over a role that will significantly see the Mufulira native assume significant control of all national teams.
The association held an emergency meeting and according to The Mast Newspaper responded as follows
“We acknowledge receipt of the proposed terms of reference for the proposed position of sporting director expected to be occupied by Mr Kalusha Bwalya. An urgent executive committee meeting was called today to deliberate over the terms of reference,” read the response from FAZ secretariat addressed to Chileshe dated December 14, 2021.
“However, the terms of reference were inadequate and need further clarifications in view of the existing MOU with the ministry. We, therefore, seek your indulgence to enable the entire FAZ executive committee have audience with the honourable minister in relation to the sporting director…”
