A truce in the alleged wrangles that have halted the 2020 Football Association of Zambia election process has been reached between the Ministry of Sport and Football House.
A standoff has ensued since Kalusha Bwalya eligibility to stand for association president during the postponed elective FAZ AGM was rejected in February that led to a court order to halt the process that had been completed in six out of the ten provincial elections.
The elective FAZ AGM will be held after the Ministry of Health lifts its ban on public gatherings due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Below is the full joint statement issued by The Ministry of Sport and FAZ.
PRESS STATEMENT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF FOOTBALL IN ZAMBIA
(For Immediate Release)
14th May, 2020
MINISTRY OF SPORTS, FAZ OPEN NEW CHAPTER
The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development and the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) wish to inform the football fraternity in Zambia that on 12th May, 2020, Hon. Emmanuel Mulenga MP and Minister of Youth, Sport and Child Development called for a Meeting with the FAZ President Mr. Andrew Kamanga and his Executive to urgently iron out outstanding issues.
Sports Minister, Hon. Emmanuel Mulenga (MP) chaired the meeting with FAZ president Andrew Kamanga heading the FAZ delegation. Others in attendance were Joe Kapembwa (Permanent Secretary), John Zulu (Director of Sports), Cade Chikobo (Deputy Director of Sports) and Raphael Mulenga (Acting General Secretary NSCZ).
The FAZ delegation included Rix Mweemba (FAZ vice president), Adrian Kashala (FAZ General Secretary) and Joseph Chimpampwe (FAZ Deputy General Secretary). The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere with both parties candidly expressing their thoughts.
After the meeting, the parties agreed on the following issues:
That the FAZ Executive led by President, Mr. Andrew Kamanga pledged to work closely with the Ministry of Youth Sport and Child Development in ensuring the development of football in Zambia and achieve positive results for all the teams;
The two parties agreed to forge a new chapter in their relationship. Both parties admitted that the fallout was due to miscommunication. To this end the two parties agreed to improve communication to avoid misunderstandings.
The parties also agreed that administrative matters which the Ministry of Youth Sport and Child Development was handling would be expeditiously dealt with expeditiously in the interest of the game of football:
FAZ gave its account on the electoral process detailing some of the areas that had sparked a lot of controversy. It also outlined the Constitutional Amendments, Electoral Committee and Electoral College that were ratified by the FAZ Council. FAZ further pledged to fully update the Ministry of Sports through the National Sports Council of Zambia (NSCZ) about the electoral process.
FAZ also appealed to the Ministry of Youth Sport and Child Development to expedite the conclusion of the Memorandum of Understanding with FAZ on the upgrading of selected provincial sports centres indicating that time was running out and that if there was further delay Zambia risked not accessing funds from the FIFA Infrastructure Development Project.
Sports Arbitration Tribunal: The NSCZ has been requested to lead the process of setting up a Sports Tribunal to avoid the financially stressful route of the International Court for Sports Arbitration (CAS).
In conclusion, the Minister of Youth, Sport and Child Development committed to provide policy and legal guidance in the administration of football while the FAZ President reiterated the Executive Committees’ commitment to ensuring that it works with government for the development of football in Zambia.
Joe Kapembwa Adrian Kashala
Permanent Secretary General Secretary
Has the national team Coach finally signed the contract?
There was no woman in meeting.
Fvck it!!
So long as FIFA rules and guidelines are strictly adhered to. This includes the FIFA integrity test.
FIFA and FAZ internal procedures are not subject to Zambian laws.
You can bribe as many magistrates as you want but that wont affect any FIFA guidelines.
Mulenga should not make the govt look like it interfears in the judiciary, let those cases under courts be determin by the courts.
They know FIFA official is enroute…
What is the truce? I can’t see a truce in your story above
Is the accessing the FIFA infrastructure Development funds that has brought the two parties together? Money can be a uniting factor sometimes????
There was no problem between FAZ and the ministry. It was only that the minister wanted to push the agenda of one Kalusha Bwalya. The minister wanted to do this at all costs desregarding both FAZ and FIFA guidelines. This is not TRUCE. The minister and his directors have just realised that they were wrong in their push for Kalusha. They should now swallow their pride and go and tell their man that they can no longer be used for his personal agenda. They should also apologise to FAZ and Soccer fans for the confusion created and delays in the FAZ electoral process. By now elections would have been held and developmental programs put in place. Lets move on.
Tarino we are eagerly waiting to quarattine the fifa rep
@chileshe augastin mulenga. Negative thinkin kkkkkkk.
No mention of the contract for the coach?
Sometimes we should learn to give credit were it is due. I would say this is a step in the right direction Mr. Emmanuel Mulenga. A lot of things were said about you and many times we misunderstood your exact position as regards the administration of soccer in this country. As long as Mr. Minister you abide by the laws governing the game and allow not to be misled by disgruntled characters you will be on top of the game. Just play your rightful role at the Ministry and show no favoritism to no one. Pass judgment in a fair manner and never mind being hated by any body as long as you do the right thing. Hold meetings with FAZ on a regular basis to up date each other on happenings in the soccer fraternity and provide your impute. Then we shall forge ahead as a Country. Well done.
Nothing is going to happen going forward since the thieves were not part of this meeting so they will still pursue their agenda of getting into faz.
Football has gone down in zambia