Morocco
British-Nigerian reporter Osasu Obayiuwana has zeroed in on the Barbara Banda situation with direct communication with CAF and this is how it went:
Kamanga: “All the players had to undergo gender verification, a CAF requirement and unfortunately, she did not meet the criteria set by CAF.”
How does this sit with the statement of Football Association of Zambia President Andrew Kamanga, who emphatically told @BBCAfrica’s CJ Karoney that Banda was excluded from the #WAFCON2022 for failing CAF’s gender tests?
“I can categorically say that CAF did not exclude Barbara Banda from the #WAFCON, and certainly not for medical reasons,” he went on. As you would agree, CAF’s position provides more questions than answers…
I asked the @CAF_Online official if @FAZFootball had intimated them of any issue making Barbara Banda ineligible to play at the #WAFCON2022 – “At no time did Zambia tell us about any concern, regarding Banda. We cannot address what was never brought to us.”
“FAZ never did, at any time, tell us that Barbara Banda had any issue that made her ineligible for the #WAFCON in #Morocco. That is the truth of the matter. We are not obligated to ask why a country did not register a player for it. That’s an internal matter.”
Osasu, everyone is criticising us for Banda. But I have one question – did @FAZ submit her name as a member of #TeamZambia for the #WAFCON? They never did, at any time. So, how can we talk about a player that was never put forward for registration or registered?”
Osasu was in conversation with a top CAF official. Osasu is well remembered by Zambians for having come to our aid when the Zambia U23 National Team were dubiously denied clear goal scoring opportunities against Congo Brazzaville in an AFCON U23 Qualifier in in 2019