Chipolopolo Zambia have suffered a setback heading into their 2022 COSAFA Cup quarterfinal match against Botswana with news that coach Aljosa Asanovic is likely to miss Tuesdays last eight fixture.
The Croat, including his compatriot assistants, failed to board the plane from Lusaka on Sunday with the rest of the team because they did not have South African visas.
Croatian passport holders require visa’s to enter South Africa.
“The head coach will join the team as soon as the visa issue is sorted out. We have engaged the tournament organizers as well as the South African immigration and our local authorities to expedite the process,” FAZ General Secretary Adrian Kashala said in a statement.
“We are hopeful that the process should be completed in the couple of hours.
“There should be no panic as the technical bench is well organized and everything is flowing normally.”
Zambia was on preliminary round bye of the 2022 COSAFA Cup South Africa is hosting in Durban from July 5-17.
Chipolopolo enter the COSAFA Cup at the quarterfinal stage where they face a fired-up Botswana who advanced from Group A,
Botswana advanced with a 100 per cent record on 9 points in Group A that they capped with a stunning 1-0 win over favourites to qualify Angola on July 10 at King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban.
Tuesday’s match will be played at the same venue at 17h00.
Should Asanovic fail to get visa in time, assistant Moses Sichone will take charge of the game.
Failures Association of Zambia. How can you not know such pedestrian things for a football association
I told you that zambia will never win a single sports competition under the cursed leadership of hh and upnd. Kaleza
I told you that zambia will never win a single sp0rts c0mpetition under the cursed Ieadership of hh and upnd. Kaleza
Faz should up the game, we are tired of excuses in everything
Both the FAZ administrator and the coach are a problem
Zambia should have enough support. There is an amateur football team in Soweto called “Chipolopolo” (copyright issues aside: the South African Football Association had a legal wrangle with a trader over the name “Bafana Bafana”). Many Zambian names are in use in South Africa: there are Lusaka sections of townships in Pretoria (in Mamelodi) and Cape Town, along with Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality. Many users of these names seem unaware of their sources. However, some Zambian surnames/first names like Phiri, Zulu, Nyoni, Muhau, Monde, etc., are also among South Africans, thanks to Shaka’s Mfecane.
It’s high time FAZ is made to account for this mess.