PART ll: By the time the team was arriving in Morocco, they virtually had nothing to wear (so, it was changanya) writes Augustine Mukoka
OFF THE PITCH: Disorganisation, Indiscipline & Unprofessionalism
To be successful in life, discipline is one of the factors that becomes a catalyst to the ultimate goal. In sport, there are a lot of factors that helps a team win. From team management, interpersonal relationships and overall team organizing to the most insignificant details – everything of such does matter. The same can’t be said about Chipolopolo’s journey to AfCON 2025.
Granted, we all know that the buck stops at the FAZ president. And in this case it is Keith Mweemba. Yet, there are operational issues that the FAZ president can’t do lest we accuse him or her of meddling into secretarial affairs and micromanaging the secretariat
So, the FAZ General Secretary plays a huge and significant role in the execution of responsibilities bestowed on him by ExCo. And unfortunately, we were not up to the game.
Here is why?
➡️ In Spain Chipolopolo did not have contingency funds. Why?
➡️ In Spain, Chipolopolo did not have training kit.
➡️ Three FAZ secretariat staff were in China flying business class but arrived in Spain with six tracksuits with the rest of the kit lost.
➡️ By the time the team was arriving in Morocco, they virtually had nothing to wear (so, it was changanya).
➡️ The weather was bitter cold for an average Zambian. (Team had to purchase sweatshirts from the Kamwala version of Morocco).
➡️ The team did not have track bottoms (we purchased these from the Kamwala version in Morocco).
➡️ By the time we arrived in Morocco, the team had no socks. We dispatched a FAZ employee to take a back that was routed to Lusaka from China.
➡️ The GS, His Deputy, The Competitions manager, the TD , were all in Morocco ( doing what? Nothing).
➡️ Then we had a player sneaking in a woman from London as hairdresser (what nonsense is this?).
➡️ As if that’s not enough, the coach sneaks out of camp to another city after elimination as if he didn’t care (much like abandoning your funeral house few minutes after burial of your loved one).
➡️ Then the GS tells his employers the ExCo to travel to Lusaka so they can proceed to Morocco as part of their ExCo resolutions. At the time he is telling his employers to converge in Lusaka, he had already taken off for Morocco and as fate would have it, he advises them on the day they thought they should be heading to the airport to head back to their respective homes as the association was allegedly cash-strapped (how do you treat adults like this? As if they are ping-pong). They had said good bye to their families only to be told go back home? Did he not plan?
➡️ not the first time but the team could again not leave the hotel because we had raked in bills of about $50,000. It again took the Morocco FA to rescue us in order for the delegation to return home. What kind of a people are we Mwebantu?
➡️ like we went to Spain in batches, so did we head back home. How on earth can you win when the team travels in batches for a tournament that was on the calendar for over 12 months?
Honestly speaking, a team travelling as disorganised, as unprofessionally arranged and as indisciplined as we were did not even deserve two points out of the competition.
We did not support the Keith Mweemba administration to become worse than the previous administration. Evidently, the bar has been dropped much lower than where we may have picked it and this must be corrected. Correcting this disorganisation starts with the FAZ Secretariat where Shepande is GS.
It’s actually not only painful but utterly disgusting to find ourselves in this position of chaos. And it’s now up-to the FAZ ExCo to make amends failure to which the FAZ Council will weigh in on them.
As GS, instead of travelling to Morocco, Shepande should have been concerned with some of the following issues.
1️⃣ Ticket Racketeering/Black Market – four employees at the FAZ Secretariat have been named in the ticket scandal that cost FAZ a little over K2 million in the match against Morocco last October. This has been happening the last few years. For an association struggling with funds, this is a significant amount. And the Zambia Police have a solid case – what has Shepande done about this? Where is an internal mechanism to account for these funds? None. Is Shepande waiting for another opportunity by his surbodinates to sell tickets on the black market and deprive the association of income? Such a one is not competent for his position.
2️⃣ The Africa Cup of Nations is the biggest marketing stage for the association. It’s an opportunity FAZ could have used to raise no less than K2 million through merchandising. If FAZ sold 5000 replicas at K600 before and during AfCON, they would be counting a revenue of at least K3 million. How did the GS fail to capitalise on this opportunity when FIFA had even helped fund the manufacturing of replicas and equipment for the national team?
3️⃣ Pending Elections In Northern Western & Northern Province
According to councillors in the two provinces, their provincial ExCos informed them of the resolution by the National ExCo to hold the elections before the completion of the 2024 AGM which was settled on December 3, 2025. To this day, Shepande has never said why this National ExCo resolution was never implemented. Don’t claim there are no funds because the amount that was used to purchase his ticket to Morocco and other Secretariat staff should have been channeled towards this very important undertaking. But he doesn’t seem to know what he is supposed to be doing thereby undeserving to continue in this position. He must resign or be excused. We can’t afford to continue at this pace because we are courting a disaster.
I read what President Hakainde Hichilema wrote in the wake of Zambia’s exit from the Africa Cup of Nations.
While most of those suggestions are long-term, the short term solutions that can take us back to winning the Africa Cup of Nations like in 2012 is discipline, organisation & professionalism which are lacking. Yes, systems and structure is what we need at FAZ but the skeleton that is currently in existence is one we can ride on to correct things and move in a better way.
A GS who doesn’t show respect to ExCo is a danger to the organisation. It’s incumbent that this is corrected whether he is connected to Plot One or not.
Before his appointment, I feared he was the right person for the job. And I even openly told him. His performance has confirmed he was a wrong choices.
ZamFoot Crew