Disarray as clubs withdraw coaches

By NDINAWE SIMPELWE –

CHIPOLOPOLO’S preparations for the COSAFA Castle Cup are in disarray following club’s decision to withdraw their head coaches.
As if that was not enough, the friendly match between Zambia and COSAFA champions Namibia that was planned for Sunday has been cancelled.
After Zesco United withdrew coach George Lwandamina from the national team to prepare for the CAF Champions’ League group stages, Nkana followed suit yesterday by withdrawing Aggrey Chiyangi to let him concentrate on the local league.
Nkwazi also demanded their head coach Elijah Chikwanda returns to Edwin Imboela Stadium to prepare the team for the tough tie against second-placed Zanaco.
Zesco kick-start their CAF Champions’ League group stage on June 17, two days before Zambia plays its first game at the COSAFA tournament in Namibia.
Nkana club president Evaristo Kabila confirmed that Chiyangi will be released today and will be on the bench when the league leaders face Lwandamina’s Zesco on Sunday.
Asked whether Chiyangi will be available for the COSAFA tournament, Kabila said the club had not received correspondence from FAZ regarding the matter.
“I have just been in touch with the GS (general secretary of FAZ), we requested to have Chiyangi released and he accepted. So the coach will be with us this weekend. On the COSAFA, all I can say is we have not received correspondence for his services but we are still communicating,” Kabila said.
Without the trio, FAZ has been left with Kampamba Chintu while efforts were being made to persuade Power Dynamos to release new coach Dan Kabwe to help drill the team.
Kabila further urged FAZ to quickly employ a full-time coach for the national team instead of relying on personnel already committed to clubs.
“How can a national team stay for such a long time without a coach?
And clubs have programmes, they have targets to meet. How can one coach be preparing the club for the league, then the Africa Cup qualifiers, World Cup qualifiers and the CAF Champions League? In the case of George (Lwandamina), how do you expect results from such a coach?” asked Kabila.
Nkwazi chairperson George Phiri said in an interview that Chikwanda’s absence has affected the team’s performance greatly and has requested the coach to return to base and prepare for tomorrow’s match.
“The national team is busy, and here Nkwazi is not recording victories to collect the maximum points, it is worrying because to us he is a full-time employee and we need his services full-time,” Phiri said.
FAZ has not employed a full-time coach from the time Herve Renard left in 2013 with all his successors, Patrice Beaumelle, Honor Janza and Lwandamina working in the interim as the association continued to source funds to hire a new coach on full-time basis.
On the friendly match, FAZ general secretary Ponga Liwewe said the cancellation was as a request by the Namibian government as the Zebras were asked to be part of the opening ceremony tomorrow.
“Yes the match has been cancelled at the request of the government of the Republic of Namibia due to the 2016 Castle COSAFA Cup competition which will commence on June 11 and the team has to be present during the opening ceremony as host,” Ponga said.