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By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE –
TEMPERS flared yesterday during the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) annual general meeting (AGM) when the two controversial proposals by Nchanga Rangers and Afrisport were tabled before the council.
Councillors at the AGM rejected the proposals prompting FAZ to adjourn the meeting to September.
Rangers and Afrisport were seeking the amendment of the FAZ constitution to allow only former executive members to vie for the association’s presidency.
The Super Division side further proposed for the introduction of nomination fees pegged at K25,000 for the presidency, K20,000 for Vice President and K15,000 for treasurer while K10,000 was proposed for committee members.
Rangers vice-chairperson, Blackwell Siwale who presented the motion before the 200 delegates at the conference amid interruptions insisted that there was need to protect FAZ from outside invasion.
“All we are saying is that this proposal is for you and shall work for you. We are saying that one must come through the normal channel when aspiring for the FAZ presidency.
We need a person with commitment and passion to the game of football and this proposal is not new, it’s being implemented at CAF and FIFA,” Siwale said.
Afrisport chief executive officer Gabriel Kaunda said there was need to have an experienced person to hold the office of FAZ president.
Among the clubs that opposed the motion were Nkwazi, Medical Stars, Mpande and Mkushi United.
Nkwazi vice chairperson, James Mpooma said the motion did not warrant to be tabled before the council because it was not in the interest of football.
“Why do we want to bring in things that will not contribute to the development of football in Zambia… This motion shouldn’t have been tabled before the AGM,” Mpooma said.
Kabaso Kapambwe of Medical Stars said the proposals were irrelevant to the development of football.
Mkushi United secretary Bright Mumba accused the proponents of the two proposals of trying to discriminate selected people from contesting the FAZ presidency.
“Such a proposal will not take our football anywhere. We should amend the constitution just to get rid of some people. One thing we don’t realise is that enemies of FAZ may come from within the executive,” Mumba said.
FAZ general secretary George Kasengele chipped in to ask councillors not to be misled by media reports saying all members were free to debate on the proposals.
After the proposals were met with hostility, FAZ president Kalusha Bwalya had a final say.
“We have to make a decision in order to move forward, it’s not my intention to be FAZ president for life,” he said.
Kalusha said the motions were not targeted at making him life president and if the people feel the proposals should not go through and that we stick to the current constitution, then it shall be.
Kalusha said there was no need for councillors to point fingers at each other, referring to some visibly agitated delegates.
He therefore adjourned the meeting to September to allow delegates to digest the contentious proposals.
Earlier, the proposal by Northern Province Amateur Football Association (NOPAFA) to have two slots into Division One was rejected by a vote.
Only 85 members supported the motion against 157 and the proposal was taken back to the Provincial Local Organising Committee (PLOC) for analysis.
