FORMER FAZ committee member Keegan Chipango says chances of Chipolopolo beating Zimbabwe in Harare in the return leg are slim.

Commenting on Zambia’s 2-1 defeat to Zimbabwe at Heroes Stadium on Tuesday, Chipango said it will be an uphill battle for Chipolopolo.
He said Zambia is likely fail to qualify to a third consecutive Africa Cup of Nations.

“We risk not qualifying for the third time for AfCON. If you look at the current situation in Group H, Algeria has six points, followed by Zimbabwe who now have four points out of two games and Botswana who have a point and Zambia zero. Now, we have to work hard, equally Botswana is not a push over these days,” he said.

“I watched them play Algeria, they are a good team, especially when they play at home. So as usual it now means that we start working on calculations that we beat Botswana both away and home. What will Zimbabwe and Algeria be doing? Our chances of beating Zimbabwe in Harare are slim, it is an uphill battle. Zimbabwe gives us problems in Harare and with their supporters, psychologically they will be on top of us. We really have to work hard and dig deeper to find a solution.”

Chipango said Chipolopolo’s defence against Zimbabwe was porous and called on the FAZ executive to sit and resolve issues affecting football administration.

“Football administering requires a lot, but currently it is not about us, but I. Football administration is about us, it’s not a one man show. Currently, football in Zambia is being administered by one man…. FAZ needs to resolve issues and re-evaluate or analyse their relationship with players and also try and reactivate the players’ interest because what is happening now is something that is not encouraging,” he said.

“Football has been taken away from the owners. The owners of football are the councillors, those that elect the executive, those that manage and look after players at club level, but the current situation is that there is hostility between FAZ and the councillors. They have been left in the cold, they are not even consulted. They are only consulted when it’s towards elections. They are only consulted when there is a crisis in FAZ, which is not good. The current FAZ executive needs to accept that there is something wrong and identify people that can help them find out as to what the problem is and find a lasting solution,” Chipango said.

He said players like Kennedy Mweene still could play a vital role in football as a player as well as on the technical bench.

Zambia will play Botswana in their next qualifier in August 2020 but before that they will take part in the CHAN tournament in April.