FOOTBALL CONTROVERSY: ELITE LADIES FC CALLS OUT ESTHER’S INJURY AS A BLATANT LIE?
A fresh controversy has rocked the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) after Elite Ladies FC have publicly accused the governing body of spreading false information about their player, Esther Chitete. The goalkeeper has reportedly been omitted from the final squad for the Paris Olympics due to injury, but her club has strongly denied this claim.
In a statement, Elite Ladies FC have stated, “We do not have any official information on Esther Chitete Munsaka being injured or being unwell. What we know is she is fit and healthy as of right now.” This publicly open statement has raised the eyebrows of the football fans who were in high hopes for the goalie to be part of the paris olympics however they had a sad face moment after hearing she was dropped.
Coach Bruce Mwape however made this statement, “All the players were just okay until goalkeeper Chitete Munsaka sustained an injury in training. The report I got from the doctor was very discouraging and they indicated that she will not be able to travel with the team. We have consequently recalled Eunice Sakala,” said Mwape.
“We had about 35 players and we had a lot of competition, and we now have the final list of 22 players. We are all aware that each competition has its own set of rules and regulations, which we observed. He added: “We are entering our last phase, and we plan to play two high-profile friendly games against teams who have competed in the World Cup or the Olympics.
Mwape said, “We picked players on merit and those that we have left out is due to form.”
Now we are in some sort of limbo. The national team coach says she is injured and her club says they have no idea of her injury. However understand it is possible for a club to be unaware of some player injuries especially during national call-ups and sometimes it could be some conspiracies coming into the play. However how do the football fans look at this?
Image credit: FAZ Media.