FAZ CHIEF UNPACKS AFCON BUDGET MYTH…Hails media for embracing football development agenda
FAZ president Andrew Kamanga says the K55 million budget presented to government for the Africa Cup of Nations covers the whole tournament up to the final.
And FAZ general secretary Reuben Kamanga says FAZ had taken strong steps to reprimand erring officials.
Speaking during an end-of-year media interaction at The Deck in Lusaka’s Woodlands Township, Kamanga said 2023 had been a hugely successful year that had seen the Copper Queens feature at the FIFA World Cup and the Chipolopolo qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations.
The FAZ boss said that planning for a tournament as big as the AFCON required prudent projections which compelled FAZ to factor in all costs up to the final.
“We have seen comments that it’s too big and what is plan B. I always get amazed with the way the media sometimes reports. For some reason, you have always failed to put these matters in context. And I say so because, all these tournaments where we have gone and participated, there is always what they call prize money,” Kamanga said.
“So even in this case, if we are going to win the Africa Cup, we are guaranteed $4.5million because that’s the prize money for winning the cup. But as you expect, the budget that has been presented is inclusive of getting into the end of the tournament, so the cost or our investment to get the team to the final is about $2 million. What we are going to get out of it is $4.5million.”
He added: “So you don’t have to be a scientist to know that getting to the final and winning the cup will give us more than a 100 percent return.
So, we should always put these things in context.”
He said that his executive had never failed to send any team for international tournaments regardless of the cost.
“Let me thank our executive for the job well done in that in the last eight years, that I have been in FAZ, we have never not even once failed to send a team to any tournament,” he said.
“At whatever cost, we even had to do this at the cost of FAZ, so just to reiterate the point, all the time we always have plan B, or C but the best way that we can resolve these challenges is by making FAZ financially independent.”
Kamanga said the Copper Queens world cup participation provided the biggest highlight of the year.
“The standout moments for us were the women participation at the FIFA World Cup and the Chipolopolo getting back to the Africa Cup. The women have also qualified for the WAFCON for their time in a row,” he said.
The FAZ chief hailed the media for their role in consistently highlighting his administration’s football agenda.
“There is no doubt that we have always placed the role of the media very high on our agenda. This is not just because you are a conduit for transmitting information to the public but because of the critical role you play in the development of country in general and sport in particular,” he said.
“The media has also always been pivotal in playing its watchdog role to ensure that the game of football is developed at the grass root level and we thank you for that.”
Meanwhile the FAZ general secretary said FAZ had suspended the match official who was part of the match between Kabwe Warriors and Muza.
Kamanga said FAZ would now embrace the culture of name and shame.
He also said the Chipolopolo would play their first friendly match on January 5 and another against Cameroon four days later.
“We will play the first friendly on January 5 against an opponent that we will finalize with soon. The game against Cameroon on January 9 is already confirmed.
Football Association of Zambia (FAZ)