Wedson Nyirenda and Beston Chambeshi ‘s appointments to the African Nations Championship CHAN team may have attracted some mixed feelings, but the appointing authority, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ), is confident the combination will achieve a qualification.
Last week, Football House announced that Nyirenda will lead the CHAN team and will be assisted by former Chipolopolo interim trainer Beston Chambeshi as well as current senior team assistant coach Moses Sichone.
The move, aimed at developing local coaches’ capacity, has been received with mixed feelings; most fans prefer Sichone to lead the team.
However, writing to the 1.1 million followers on the FAZ Facebook page, Football House president Andrew Kamanga is optimistic that Nyirenda is the right man for the assignment.
Zambia will be looking to bounce back to the CHAN after failing to qualify for the previous edition under former coach Aljosa Asanovic.
“Coach Wedson Nyirenda will be assisted by Beston Chambeshi and Moses Sichone. Naturally, Chipolopolo coach Avram Grant will keep tabs on the project as he is the overall supervisor of all national teams. We will be expecting that the bench delivers CHAN qualification as it is important to giving local players an opportunity to compete at the international stage,” Kamanga stated.
He challenged local players to give it their best.
“Preparations are already in motion and we challenge the local players to rise to the occasion and deliver CHAN qualification,” he said.
Zambia will face Mozambique in the second round of qualifiers. The first leg will be played between December 20 and 22, before the second leg five days later. To qualify, Zambia has to win this tie over two legs.
Ironically, it is Mozambique that denied Zambia qualification at the 2022 event.
