COVID-19 pushes Zambia out of Croatia Under-15 tournament

By Bernard Chama | September 27, 2020

Two confirmed COVID 19 positive cases have hr, scfo f forced Zambia Under 15 National team out of the ‘Vlatko Markovic’ eight-team invitational tournament in Croatia

FAZ General Secretary Adrian Kashala confirmed the development in a press statement by FAZ Communications manager Sydney Mungala made available to the ZamFoot Crew.

Kashala was also quick to thank the Croatia Football Federation (CFF) for having invited Zambia for the tournament.

We regret to announce that the Under-15 National Team will not play their third and fourth play-off with Qatar after two of our players tested positive to Covid-19. The organizers of the tournament have informed us of the decision and the affected players will be isolated as per health regulations.

“The safety and health of the players are more important. As you are all aware we live in strange times with the Covid-19 pandemic which has claimed a lot of lives worldwide. The health authorities have subjected the rest of the team to requisite health protocols and have been found negative,” Kashala said.

“On behalf of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president, I wish to thank the Croatia Football Federation (CFF) for having invited is for this world-acclaimed tournament. The host federation has also facilitated the travel of the rest of the team while the two affected players have stayed behind with the team Doctor awaiting further tests,” he added.

Zambia commenced its campaign with a 2-1 win over Bosnia& Herzegovinabefore losing to Romania by a similar scoreline. The Chisi Mbewe drilled boys were scheduled to play Qatar for a chance to finish third in the overall tournament rankings after failing to make it to the final.