FAZ President Rules Out ABSA Cup Qualification Changes

Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Keith Mweemba has said the current qualification criteria for the ABSA Cup will remain unchanged, stating that the association will not “fix what is not broken”.

Speaking after the 2026 ABSA Cup final won by Red Arrows on Sunday, Mweemba said it would be difficult to alter the current system.

“Well, it would be very difficult. The standard has been set. ABSA is the sponsor. They knew they had to create a competition,” Mweemba responded to a question by BolaNews.

He added, “For now, we can’t discuss that until we have sat down with the sponsor. But for now, this format is working. If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.”

The current ABSA Cup qualification criteria sees the top seven teams in the MTN Super League at week 17, midway through the season, booking qualification, while the top four in the ZPL National League also qualify at week 17, with the provincial Division One winners joining the participants.

Some critics have suggested that the qualification system should be changed to ensure those who finish strongly at the end of the season earn ABSA Cup qualification instead of rewarding midseason top performers.

This year’s ABSA Cup saw a total sponsorship package of K7 million from ABSA Bank, with the winners pocketing K1.1 million.

Calvin Kaumba Chikenge May 12, 2026

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Calvin Kaumba Chikenge is an award-winning Zambian multimedia sports journalist well known for his exclusive stories and feature writing. He was voted 2023/24 MTN/FAZ Super League journalist of the year. In addition to reporting on sports for Spring TV, he interned for the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper. He is the current Ballon d'Or juror and has contributed to numerous international publications, including the Guardian in the UK, and is the editor of BolaNews.