By Augustine Mukoka
Barbara Banda’s Ejection: The FAZ Medical Committee Is Moribund
Some nine or seven months ago, CAF communicated to FAZ advising of Barbara Banda’s medical situation insofar as participation in the women’s national team is concerned.
Ideally, this situation should have been subjected to the FAZ medical committee led by Dr. Joseph Mulenga.
Barbara and any other player presenting borderline or excess testosterone levels would have been subjected to some strict therapy to regulate the hormonal imbalance, of course with their consent.
An endocrinologist (a physician specialized in the study of hormones) could have been engaged in addition to a nutritionist and a psychologist.
Barbara is the Kalusha Bwalya of the women’s team but we watched her roam the streets without recourse. I am informed the FAZ medical committee has never met since it was constituted 12 months ago. The committee reports to the Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee has met 10 to 12 times during this period. Did they not notice that one of their critical committees was moribund?
Dr Joseph Mulenga is head of the moribund medical committee and is deputized by FAZ ExCo member Mr. Francis Hafwiti. Other members of the committee are Dr. Masiku Phiri, Dr. Kevin Zimba, Dr. Kelvin Sinkala, Dr. Gabriel Mpundu and Dr. Chishimba.
Anyway, let us allow the women to focus on tonight’s match against Cameroon.
You may wish to know that before Barbara was ejected, I was weighing in on reports surrounding the women’s national team.
In order not to give some of my self-appointed opposition commentators a platform, I opted to keep away.
But I wanted to mention that the other problem which I am reliably informed is rampant in the team relates to the behavior of male coaches. They have not represented us well. The situation almost spiraled out of control at the Olympics in Japan.
As a patriotic Zambian, I will discuss the details of this information after the Women’s Africa Cup in Morocco so that I deter suggestions that the aim of my article is to destabilize our girls’ participation in the tournament. I want us to allow the team to focus on the task at hand.
The entire FAZ Executive Committee has full knowledge of this subject so do most sports journalists.
It’s difficult to fathom that people priding themselves as leaders of our football have been walking with their heads high when such disturbing and verifiable information is circulating from team members.
We can’t all be complicit to this misnomer.
Any way, good day folks and best wishes to the Copper Queens! Happy Sunday!