Former Zambia striker Nchimunya Mweetwa says coaches will need to be strategic in managing their players following the confirmed October 3 kick-off date for the MTN Super League Transitional League.
The league will be played in two streams, Stream A and Stream B, with the delayed start presenting clubs with the challenge of maintaining player fitness and readiness after extended pre-season preparations.
The league was initially scheduled to kick off in September, but the Zambian Premier League has now settled on October as the month of kick-off.
Speaking exclusively to BolaNews, Mweetwa described the postponement as a major setback for clubs that had already structured their preparations around the initial September start date.
“Pushing the league opener for the Transitional League, it’s a big blow on the clubs because they’re already prepared,” Mweetwa said.
He explained that football preparation follows carefully planned cycles, with coaches using periodisation to ensure players reach peak fitness at the appropriate time.
“Football is in cycles. So, there’s what we call periodisation. When you’re preparing for the league, you draw up a plan, a cycle of six weeks. And then, in those six weeks, you prepare the team. After six weeks, the team will be ready to compete,” he said.
Mweetwa said the difficulty arises when the competition does not begin as planned after players have already completed their conditioning programme.
“After six weeks, you find the league is not starting. So, it’s very difficult for the coaches now to readjust when they’ve already loaded the players,” he said.
He believes the extended preparation period could force technical benches to reconsider their training programmes to prevent players from becoming physically or mentally fatigued before competitive football begins.
“I am not a fan of transitional league” – Mweetwa
Mweetwa also expressed reservations about the Transitional League concept, arguing that previous changes to the football calendar had negatively affected the development of the domestic game.
“I’m not a fan of the Transitional League because the previous Transitional League changed the calendar. Made us lose eight years of our football,” he said.
He warned that the latest transitional arrangement could similarly have long-term consequences for Zambian football if not carefully managed.
“This one, from the scientific point of view, we might lose maybe four or five years. So, we need to brace ourselves for what is to come,” Mweetwa said.
However, despite his concerns, the former Buildcon coach believes there is still room for clubs and coaches to adapt to the circumstances and make the best use of the time available.
