On Preparations For The U17 Afcon
We are now in the final stages of our preparations for the 2023 U17 Afcon, which will start at the end of this month in Algeria. We will have a training camp before travelling to Algeria for the tournament. But before we leave Zambia, we need to play a few friendly matches and by the end of this current week we will have a clear picture about the exact dates of when we are leaving. Zambia is in Group B with Nigeria, Morocco and South Africa and the four semi-finalists from the tournament will go to the U17 FIFA World Cup, which will be played from November to December this year. We will start the tournament against Nigeria, play against South Africa in the second match and then Morocco in the final group match. This is not an easy group for any of the teams. We've had a very intensive preparation and selection process leading up to the tournament qualifiers. We started by holding trials across all 10 provinces of Zambia. We didn't just focus on urban areas, we went to scout in all the districts and rural areas because those are the most neglected areas. From each province, we selected the best two to three players. Fortunately for us, there are lots of academies in Zambia. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid also have academies (in Zambia) and that has helped as well. But before players attend trials, they have to do an MRI scan because there is too much age-cheating in football and we don't allow age-cheating. Before players can go for any junior national team trials, they have to do the mandatory MRI scan so that we can identify the age groups properly rather than having problems later. People who are in charge of football from the districts and rural areas, sometimes they would send over-age players to trials and that used to be a big problem. We had that problem. But MRI is good because you can't cheat it – it works well for us. And we've been able to catch those who were cheating. Players who come from rural areas don't think about age, they just want to come and play for the national team, but we have experts who can deal with those things and we also ask the players questions. Introducing mandatory MRI scans for players under the age of 17 is something that can help other African countries because sometimes you can have a player who plays for three seasons and the next thing they are finished. Why do you think that is the case? I mean, think about it. That is the problem. So, we don't want to be faced with those problems. And when you do MRI, it's easy because you get your results back in two days.
On Their Relationship With Barcelona And Atletico Madrid
The relationship with two Spanish clubs, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, is something that was organised by the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ). Those two clubs have academies that go to villages and rural areas to search for the best talent in the country, and as national team coaches it makes our jobs of selecting players easy. When selecting players, it's not just about focusing on urban areas, it's about having ways and means to go to the villages and rural areas to tap into the best talent everywhere, and those two clubs have resources to help regarding that. That is how the former Leicester City and Brighton Hove Albion player, Enock Mwepu, was identified as a youngster by his club Kafue Celtic. Patson Daka, who is currently at Leicester City in the English Premier League, was also identified through the same process by Kafue Celtic as well. There are so many academies around Zambia and this makes it easy for the junior national teams. Once the players have gone through the MRI scans, screening process and trials, those who have been selected will go to a training camp where coaches will train them and have another look. After that, then they have to play inter-provincial matches against each other, where we will select final squad that will represent the national team. During the selection process, we also have an independent selection committee. I think this is something that South Africa teams and just football in general can learn from because in South Africa you neglect players from rural areas. In South Africa, football is mostly concentrated in Jo'burg, Tshwane, Cape Town, Durban and other urban areas. There are players from rural districts who lack the connections to get into the bigger clubs and those players can't get in. Another problem that you have in South Africa is that there is a lack of football through the school systems. In South Africa, you have powerhouses like Kaizer Chiefs and great things like the DStv Diski Challenge, but development is not just about that. If a player is lacking someone who can connect them to big clubs like Kaizer Chiefs, those are people who are being neglected.
On Getting Players Ready For The Senior National Team
Our junior national teams start from U15, U17, U20 and up to the senior national team. The players that we are coaching now will be ready to play senior football in about two to three years. But sometimes the biggest problem with African clubs is that we want money. A player can be 17 and we are already thinking about selling him to a bigger club for a big amount. Everything is about money. But sometimes you have to develop a player or maybe send them on loan where they will gain experience before you can think about selling. Not everything is about money, we need to stop thinking like that and look at the development of a player as a whole.
