The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has unveiled an ambitious K216 million budget for the 2026/2027 calendar year, signalling an aggressive push towards expanding football development, increasing international engagements, and strengthening the association’s commercial base.
FAZ head of Finance Owen Buntele presented the budget during the 2025 FAZ Annual General Meeting (AGM), currently underway at the Protea Hotel Ndola.
K83 million of the funding will come from FIFA representing 38 percent of the total budget.
CAF will contribute K16 million, translating to seven percent.
KoPa will contribute K18.9 million, nine percent of the projected income. K176,297,007 will be expenditure for the year.
The association is also projecting a surplus of K39.7 million for the financial year, a figure that may strengthen confidence in FAZ’s efforts to stabilise and professionalise football administration.
However, despite the encouraging projections, FAZ acknowledged that a significant portion of the budget still depends on securing external partnerships and sponsorships.
K150 million, representing 70 percent, is guaranteed funding, while K65 million, accounting for 30 percent, must be sourced from partners and commercial activities.
The budget demonstrates FAZ’s increasing emphasis on self-sustainability and commercial expansion.
The recently constituted Commercial and Marketing Committee is expected to play a major role in generating additional revenue.
“Legacy debt a problem for FAZ”
K46.9 million, representing 27 percent of the total total expenditure will go towards women national teams.
The men’s national teams will consume K38.2 million, accounting for 22 percent of the expenditure.
K10.1 million is for Technical programmes, K2.3 million will fund futsal.
Administration costs will take K33 million, accounting for 19 percent of the total expenditure.
The increased financial allocation towards women’s football reflects Zambia’s growing status as one of Africa’s emerging women’s football powers following the continued success of the Copper Queens on the continental and global stage.
Meanwhile, auditors approved the FAZ financial statements while noting that legacy debt remains one of the association’s biggest challenges.
“The financial statements presents fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Football Association of Zambia as at 31st December 2025 and of its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs),” reads the opinion of the auditors.
The AGM also heard that the number of international matches involving Zambia’s national teams rose significantly from 64 matches in 2024 to 79 matches in 2025, highlighting FAZ’s increasing investment in competitive international football exposure.
