Six Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) elected provincial chairpersons have petitioned the association’s secretary general Adrian Kashala and rejected calls by Sports Minister Emmanuel Mulenga to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting to resolves the disputes currently obtaining.

The six provincial chairpersons who were elected in March for the 2020-2024 tenure held a meeting with Kashala where a resolution to wait for the imminent visit of FIFA Member Association Officer Veron Mosengo-Omba was arrived at.

According to statement by FAZ acting spokesperson Sydney Mungala, the elected chairpersons resolved that there would be no need to hold an Emergency meeting since FIFA had already announced that a representative would be sent as soon as the Coronavirus situation normalises.

“The six FAZ elected provincial chairpersons for the 2020-2024 tenure have rejected calls for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). According to resolutions of the quintet’s meeting with FAZ General Secretary Mr. Adrian Kashala whom they petitioned, the meeting resolved to wait for the imminent visit of FIFA Member Associations Officer Veron Mosengo-Omba. The chairpersons are from the Copperbelt, Western, North Western, Northern, Eastern and Luapula. The elected officials for the 2020-2024 term agreed (a) There would be no need for FAZ to hold an EGM as FIFA had already indicated that they would be sending an emissary to Zambia next month to resolve the perceived standoff with the aggrieved parties. (b) The affiliates would not agree to any action outside the FAZ constitution. (c) Interaction with banned officials should not be tolerated by FAZ as prescribed by the constitution,” Mungala stated.

He stated that the provincial chairpersons noted that FAZ had been side-tracked by non-members who should not be allowed to destabilize the game as the aggrieved parties should appeal to the Council for leniency other than holding the Association to ransom.

“The officials also advised that FAZ should stick to the roadmap approved by FIFA in conducting activities related to the elections. FIFA has notified FAZ that its Member Associations Officer would be in Zambia next month to pacify the situation in the Zambian game. The meeting was attended by Patrick Ndhlovu (Copperbelt), Crispin Kamuna (Eastern), Mweemba Mujala (Luapula), David Simwinga (Western), Mwansa Kapyanga (Northern) and Arthur Kamulosu (North Western),” stated Mungala. “FAZ has held elections in six provinces with the remainder expected to be concluded once the covid-19 threat subsides. During the same meeting, the FAZ General Secretary provided an update on the status of various activities that the association was working on in relation to football development.”

Last week, Mulenga announced that FAZ, aggrieved parties and stakeholders had agreed to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting to determine the misunderstandings and arrive at a verdict.