Daily Nation Newspaper

WADA WALKS TIGHT ROPE

- By GRACE CHAILE LESOETSA AZ

Fshould not be in a hurry to fire Wedson Nyirenda but instead give him enough rope to hang himself, former FAZ committee member Keagan Chipango has advised. Chipango said Zambia should move away from the syndrome of hire and fire but give Nyirenda the 2019 Africa Cup qualificat­ion target to prove himself.

He said the technical committee and Nyirenda must agree on issues which involves team preparatio­n to avoid finger pointing.

“Let’s not be in a hurry to sack Nyirenda, he must be given enough rope to hang himself. We have the 2019 AfCON qualifiers and we can’t fire him at this stage. If he fails to qualify the team, then he can be sacked,” he said. Chipango said those calling for an expatriate coach should face reality that FAZ had no money and government had also stated so before Nyirenda appointmen­t.

He advised the Chipolopol­o coach to concentrat­e on his job and listen to advice.

“I have noticed one thing about our coach, he takes time to listen to advice. And when he makes a team selection let him leave room for advice from the technical committee if we are to achieve positive results,” he said.

And Northern Province based councillor Michael Chimponda said FAZ should also take up the blame for Zambia’s failed performanc­e at the CHAN tournament as they were a disintegra­ted executive committee.

Speaking in an interview from Livingston­e, Meanwhile, Chimponda said FAZ and the coach must accept the blame for the poor run at CHAN.

He said FAZ was wrong in the first place to give Nyirenda a contract without proper assessment.

He said the Chipolopol­o team needed an expatriate coach and not a coach without enough exposure.

“FAZ was so quick to give Nyirenda a contract which was not even performanc­e based. And FAZ should begin to work as a unit for the country to begin to see results. Not this situation where some individual­s are frustrated and cannot speak out or challenge anything thereby killing the game,” he said.

Chimponda said FAZ should begin head hunting as soon as possible.

Kalomo based councillor Enock Lozi said FAZ should give Nyirenda the 2019 AfCON target.

“Lets give Wada the 2019 AfCON, if he fails to qualify the team, he must be fired immediatel­y,” he said.

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