We’re not scared of South Africa – FAZ

FAZ communications manager, Erick Mwanza said the Under-17 Women national team will undergo intensive training through a series of friendly games with local teams and one international friendly as part of the preparations line up for the first leg game in Lusaka and the return leg set for the weekend of November 23-24 in South Africa.

In an interview in Lusaka yesterday, Mwanza could not pre-empt the country which the team would play the friendly with at this stage because modalities of the match were still being worked on.

Mwanza said he was confident that Zambia would beat perennial rivals South Africa because of the intensity of the programme that has been lined up for the team.

He said he had confidence in the Albert Kachinga-coached women’s team that beat South Africa in the Zone Six Games that Zambia hosted last December and believed they were a very good side.

“Yes in the past South Africa had an upper hand in the games that we played with them, but that is in the past now because the current set of girls that we have are the same ones who played the South African side during the Zone Six games, and are very good,” he said.

Mwanza said there were no changes made to the Kachinga-led technical staff, which has been working with the team for over a year.

He said the team will not go into residential camp until a few weeks before the qualifier, saying there was still ample time before November when the game is scheduled to take place.

The Zambia women’s team beat the much-fancied South Africa 2-1 during the 2012 Zone Six Games football finals in Lusaka.