Eight candidates, among them FC MUZA proprietor Keith Mweemba, have filed to challenge incumbent Andrew Kamanga for the position of Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president.

Kamanga is seeking re-election on March 29 when FAZ councilors gather at the New Fairmount Hotel in Livingstone for the elective annual general meeting.

Friday was set as the final day for nominations, after which the electoral committee will engage in a vetting process before the successful candidates are announced.

By press time, nine candidates, including Kamanga, had put up their hand to be handed the instruments of football power for the next four years.

Those who have counted themselves worthy of unseating Kamanga are journalists Godfrey Chikumbi and Alex Njobvu and veteran sports administrator Machacha Shepande.

Others are former Football House general secretary Adrian Kashala, businessman and financial expert Mumbo Lombe, and Francis Hafwiti.

Interestingly, Hafwiti is a FAZ executive committee member in the current executive led by Kamanga.

After losing to Kamanga in the last election, former Chipolopolo vice captain Emmanuel Munaile will try his luck again.

Kamanga takes a dig at Mweemba and co.’s unity message

Mweemba has premised his FAZ bid on bringing unity to the football family.

“Football is a sport. It is a game of unity and as an incoming FAZ president we shall ensure that we unite the football family,” Mweemba told reporters. “When it comes to unity there is no compromise. There is no way our national teams are playing football, and some people are sidelined.”

On the other hand, incumbent Kamanga has claimed that football, by definition, is a unifying force and that those pledging to unite the football family are simply playing politics because there is no division.

He stated that he is not finished with what he started, despite his administration attaining nearly all of its targets in the previous two terms he has been at the football house.

“In 2024, we qualified for all the CAF tournaments that we are going to play this year. So for me, what you need to appreciate is that in the first term we were putting up the foundation; in the second term we’ve been able to build and we’ve reached the roof level,” he said.

“That’s why in 2024, we’ve been able to deliver on all tournaments. We are going to the Africa Cup. Then the next step is basically to put the roof and what is the oof? We have to aspire to win the cup competitions in all the tournaments we are going to compete in.”