KITWE DERBY CHEERS FAZ

FAZ President Andrew Kamanga says his association is happy with how the MTN/ FAZ Super League season has progressed.

He said the entertaining Kitwe derby witnessed on Sunday at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe testifies why the Zambian Super League remains among the top on the continent.

Kamanga noted that everything about the Kitwe derby which saw Nkana claiming the bragging rights after beating bitter rivals Power Dynamos 2-0 espoused what is beautiful about the Zambian league.

Kamanga said the exciting moments witnessed during the Kitwe derby encouraged FAZ to keep improving the beautiful Zambian game.

Meanwhile, Kamanga said winning is not the ultimate goal for junior teams despite the under-17 girls and boys winning gold and silver respectively at the 2021 African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region five Games, Maseru 2020. “Winning for junior teams is not the ultimate but rather a coherent development plan should be the focus. “It is more important to map out a well thought out progression roadmap for the promising talents,” Kamanga said.

He said the under-17 boys have transitioned from the under-15 squad that participated at the Vlatko Markovic Invitational Tournament in Croatia to the U-17 team.

Kamanga is hopeful that with the Africa Cup qualifiers looming, the U-17 project will be a project that gets an opportunity to shine on the continental stage.

Kamanga said the U-17 girls also have an opportunity to compete in World Cup qualifiers next year.

“With the decentralisation process fully implemented, we will be scouring the provinces for more youthful talent that we hope to nurture through a structured plan.

“We have identified technical officers in all the provinces that will liaise with the Technical Director in identifying and enhancing talent. Crucially, all these things are embedded in the 10-year strategic plan that FAZ has drawn up,” Kamanga said.