FAZ Wrangles almost over … FIFA meeting final and no seeking redress after
The wrangles that have rocked the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) are expected to be a thing of the past following a meeting involving FAZ, Aggrieved stakeholders, and the government held on Thursday.
In the meeting chaired by the Presidential Affairs minister honorable Freedom Sikazwe, The aggrieved party Patson Lusaka and Damiano Mutale (who were represented by their lawyers Gilbert Phiri and Paul Chola) and FAZ ( who were represented by FAZ President Andrew Kamanga, vice Rix Mweemba, and General Secretary Adrian Kashala) agreed that the upcoming meeting with FIFA would be final and will be used to iron out all the issues surrounding elections.
According to a signed document made available to the ZamFoot Crew, The parties involved agreed that the football cases were to be withdrawn from the courts and that FAZ would wait for the meeting with FIFA before proceeding with their elections.
“In line with His Excellency Dr.Edgar Chagwa Lungu”s directive that the Government should not interfere in the administration of all sports in the country, Football inclusive, it was the initiative of the government to call for an urgent high-level meeting for the two parties to resolve their differences.
Through the meeting, the two parties agreed and signed a consent judgment that :
i. The aggrieved party will withdraw the football case from the courts of law today the 10th of July, 2020
ii. FAZ will not proceed with elections until after the meeting to be chaired by FIFA to iron out outstanding electoral contested issues; and
iii. The meeting which will be chaired by FIFA will be attended by both FAZ and all the aggrieved stakeholders
iv. The outcome of the meeting with FIFA shall be final and none of the parties will seek redress from a third party.”
The meeting is expected to take place in the next few days via Zoom call and will be chaired by FIFA chief member associations officer, Vernon Mosengo-Omba
FIFA on 30th June gave Zambia a 10 days ultimatum to normalize the situation or face sanctions as they were in breach of the FAZ and FIFA Statutes article 59, paragraph 21.
“We note with concern that, to date, proceedings against FAZ still remain active, before Zambian courts of law. This situation thus being in total breach of the FAZ and FIFA Statutes article 59, paragraph 21. It is worth mentioning at this stage that any decisions, of any court in Zambia, shall be deemed third party interference and would result in FAZ being sanctioned accordingly. In this context should the situation not be normalized within the next 10 days, we would be compelled to submit the present affair to the competent FIFA body for further action” read part of the letter from FIFA
The President of the Republic of Zambia, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu who is also FAZ patron on Thursday instructed Presidential Affairs minister honorable Freedom Sikazwe to chair the meeting in order to resolve the wrangles.
In March, Damiano Mutale dragged the Football Association of Zambia president Andrew Kamanga, his general secretary Adrian Kashala, and five others to court for allegedly breaching a court order. Mutale claimed that Kamanga and others, whilst acting together, ignored a court injunction ordering them to halt the electoral process, thereby committing contempt of court.