Football League To Kick Off 18th July

The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has set July 18 as the tentative date for resuming the League. This comes following the announcement by President Edgar Lungu that the sport can resume on July subject to guidelines set out by the Ministry of Health.

FAZ is expected to engage all the Super League and National Division One clubs this week in order to agree on measures required to enable the return to fixtures. Representatives will convene at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka and Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.

Meanwhile, members have been instructed to arrange the testing of their player and staff with the District Medical Authorities.

Matches will be played behind closed doors until further notice, with games broadcast on SuperSport. 

As the return to matches in being done in phases. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sport are still consulting regarding the resumption of lower leagues.

Writing on the plans to resume the League FAZ President Andrew Kamanga has said he is excited for the sports return to Zambia.

“Like every football fan I am very excited that our patron has heard the cries of the millions of Zambians that have been yearning for the return of the game,” he stated.

However, he stressed the importance and responsibility of following the guidelines and prioritising the wellbeing of staff and players.

“It has been a drawn out period of tripartite consultations to refine the plan to ensure that all the possible sticky points are covered. In everything we have done, we have been guided by the understanding that whatever decision we take should put the lives of the players and technical staff at the top. Even as much as we love the beautiful game, its resumption should not compromise the health of everyone involved. Simply put, no life is worth losing over football,” Kamanga writes.

He also called on fans to be patient for further developments stating, “Already we have been inundated by cries to admit fans into stadia. We wish to remind our members and also fans that they should not forget how far we have come to get to this point. Every single gain toward re-opening the game has been negotiated with the risk of infection calculated. Our appeal to the fans is that they should be a bit patient as we kick-start this process.”