Coach Beston Chambeshi has hailed the nomination of the Zambia Under-20 team and striker Patson Daka for the 2017 CAF Awards.
The Under-20 squad Chambeshi was coaching recently has been nominated for the National Team of the year award with Daka being shortlisted for the CAF Young Player of the Year Award.
Chambeshi, who has been promoted to the Under-23 team as head coach, believes both Daka and the Under-20 deserve the nomination after winning the Africa Cup and reaching the World Cup quarterfinals.
“We did a commendable job at both the Africa Cup and the World Cup. Indeed we deserved to be among the best. The nomination is gratifying not only to me but the players, my fellow coaches and our officials,” he said.
On Daka, Chambeshi said:” This is an encouragement to Patson. To be among the nominees is not easy, we also appreciate his team mates because you cannot play football alone.”
“As coach, apart from Patson I would have loved to have seen more players nominated for these awards. That would have showed that people really followed our performance,” he added.
The CAF Award Gala will take place on 4th January 2018 in Accra, Ghana.
Busy celebrating a nomination….this is where we have lost it as Zambians. We are always content with being close to prize and not actually wining the prize. I have even seen the national team at one time being hosted for a chain of dinners for coming out third or second in the tournament and yet they have failed to win the cup.
I agree with Chambeshi, Mwepu, Prosper Chiluya and Mangani Banda should also have been nominated.
Ubututu, how can they nominate just your players, you think other teams did not do well. They should nominate four from your team. So it is wrong for them to have nominated your whole team as national team of the year? Finshi mufwaya kanshi? Mufuna chani?