30 April 2011
ALMOST seven months since the resignation of four FAZ executive members lit up a fire in the association, the flame is only expected to be doused today at the reconvened Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Mulungushi University in Kabwe.
Today’s assembly put on test Kalusha Bwalya’s executive which faces a vote-of-no-confidence that has been brought up by Division Two south side Mazabuka United.
The meeting is being reconvened after the initial ‘indaba’ scheduled for March 26 had to be deferred following the two camps’ decision to hold parallel gatherings in Luanshya and Lusaka.
The failed March indaba was hard on the heels of a similar situation in November when the depleted Kalusha executive held their Emergency Council Meeting (ECM) in Kabwe while two thirds of the FAZ council held theirs at Intercontinental hotel in Lusaka.
The Lusaka meeting dissolved the Kalusha executive on the basis that it had ceased to function constitutionally following the resignation of vice president Emmanuel Munaile and committee members, Pivoty
Simwanza, Violet Bwalya and Henschel Chitembeya. An interim committee led by the Kabwe Warriors chairman, Andrew Kamanga was ushered in to oversee the affairs of the local game until the AGM although this was without blessings from FIFA who only attended the Kabwe meeting.
Thus, the first step in the reconciliation process starts today when the two parties meet under one roof for the first time, even without agreeing on who chairs the meeting when deliberating the vote-of-no-confidence motion.
Football House contends that Kalusha has express powers to chair the meeting throughout, the Kamanga group contends that it would not be ideal for the 1988 African Footballer-of the-Year to preside over a matter discussing him.
In a statement released yesterday, Kamanga said, “As the football family prepares for a decisive albeit delayed AGM at the (Mulungushi Rock of Authority) in Kabwe, it is cardinal to remind our members of pertinent issues surrounding the mal-administration of the game.”
Kamanga added that there had been dissatisfaction with the management of the local game as evidenced by the concerns raised by all major stakeholders in the game. “Undoubtedly, there has been gross dissatisfaction with the management of the game in the country which has clearly manifested in concerns by all stakeholders.
FIFA, the government, ZAFCA, RAZ, sponsors, the National Sports Council of Zambia, clubs, soccer fans and most important the players have suffered irreparable damage owing to appalling levels of mismanagement,” he said. The interim committee president said the dissatisfaction has led to a vote-of-no-confidence in the current administration as directed by the world soccer governing body during a tripartite meeting in Zurich on December 20, 2010.
He said the indiscriminate breach of the FAZ constitution forced affiliates to evoke its provisions and summon an emergency council meeting leading to the birth of the interim committee in November last year.
“Shortly before two-thirds of FAZ members met at the ECM, the executive committee elected in 2008 crumbled rendering itself dysfunctional, a position later affirmed by the NSCZ.
This was after the resignation of FAZ vice-president and three other committee members,” he said. He added that against the interest of the game and the country, a redundant group insisted their legality, which has never been recognised by the majority of its members and the laws of the country.
Kamanga appealed to clubs to remain steadfast and ensure our game was salvaged, saying the stakeholders had clearly lost confidence in the redundant group at Football House and it was now the responsibility of all councilors to correct the situation in the best interest of developing the game.
He accused the current administration of hampering progress, considering the disrespect this dysfunctional group had shown to the government, FIFA and sponsors, adding that if left unchecked at today’s meeting, the local game may be headed for doom.
“The recent discrepancies surrounding the management of SuperSport broadcast rights, the confusion between MTN and Konkola Copper Mines are a clear indication there is a serious problems with our administration,” he said.
Kamanga also said after a long-standing cordial relationship between Zambia and FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the interim committee was convinced the Swiss deserves another mandate.
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