Nkana Officials And Supporters Urged To Reconcile

The Zambia Football Fans Association (ZAFFA) has asked the Nkana executive committee and the supporter’s leadership to bury their differences.

A cold war has erupted between the two parties with the supporter’s group accusing the executive of poor administration before petitioning club sponsors Mopani Copper Mines to remove club president Evaristo Kabila and Secretary Charles Chakatazya.

National supporters chairman Emmanuel Zulu has cited Kalampa’s failure to settle arrears owed to former players Stephen Adams, Aaron Katebe and Walter Bwalya as signs of mismanagement.

The cases of the three players resulted in some of the club’s assets being impounded by bailiffs in addition to sanctions by FIFA and FAZ.

The executive reacted angrily to the petition by announcing that it had dissolved the supporters leadership at all levels.

Reacting to the rift, ZAFFA General Secretary Chawezi Katwizi said no stakeholder is bigger than the other at Nkana hence the need for supporters and the executive to dialogue.

“The shadow boxing we are seeing at Nkana is not good for the club. The best way is to sit down and iron out this issue behind closed doors. Hoping to see a very good ending to this,” Katwizi said.

Katwizi has also asked the Nkana executive to rescind the announced dissolving of the supporters’ leadership.

“No club can survive without fans. The executive should find a strategy of engaging the fans. Fans have been there even when the team was in Division One. There is no way the executive can say they have dissolved the supporters,” he said.

And Kitwe based Nkana supporter Prosper Shamatutu is insisting that Kabila must be removed as club president.

“Why has Kabila rushed to dissolve the supporters? This means he is guilty and must go. What has he achieved at Nkana? Kabila needed to sit down with fans and hear out our concerns,” Shamatutu said.

This article originally appeared on Lusaka Times