DON’T LOSE FOCUS – KAMANGA
FOOTBALL Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Andrew Kamanga has urged the Under-17 national team not to lose focus despite their eviction from the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Kamanga said it is important for the junior Copper Bullets to forget about the 1-6 loss to Burkina Faso and forge ahead to future competitions.
He said despite the exit from the competition the team has broken new milestones following its inaugural qualification to the historic FIFA World Cup Championship slated for November, 2025, in Quarter.
“First, congratulations to the team on the overall milestone of world cup qualification and for reaching the quarterfinals for the first time at this age group.
“We obviously could have done more but we have to pick ourselves up from this point,” Kamanga said.
He said the Association will do everything possible to prepare the team for the World Championship.
“The team has some time between now and November to re-organise and ensure that they seal all the loopholes that were exposed at AfCON in Morocco…the technical bench will expectedly provide a report, which will guide us on the next steps,” he said.
Kamanga said the association will not lose sight of the need to expose young players to more competitive football.
“While we are capturing these boys (the under-17) and girls (under-15) level, we are more compelled to accelerate our talent identification program that seeks to set up an under-13 and under-11 national teams. We need to strengthen our grassroots structure more, going forward,” he added.
The junior Copper Bullets were last Thursday eliminated from the AfCON after losing 1-6 to Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals at Stade Larbi Zaouli in Casablanca, Morocco.
Meanwhile, the Copper Queens retuned yesterday from China where they were participating in the Yongchuan International tournament in Chongqing.
The team which comprised of local based players and officials arrived at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in the morning aboard a Qatar Airways flight.
Foreign based players connected direct to their various respective clubs.
Zambia finished third at the tournament which featured Thailand, Uzbekistan and hosts China.
The Copper Queens were using the tournament to prepare for the Women Africa Cup of Nations Championship set for July in Morocco.
ENDS/Ed.
