The itchy sensation to show who is who in the much awaited blockbuster fixture in the Eden University National Division One League between ball switchers Kafue Celtic and shrewed Prison Leopards over the weekend certainly left many faithful followers of the game quite disappointed.
This FAZ Week 25 clash that was scheduled for OYDC had officials running back and forth trying to get a clear bill of COVID-19 results from health experts for the 23 Kafue Celtic players but discovered that results were not in sequencial format as the list had other people who were tested other than Celtic players.
Running out of time to isolate Celtic players from the list, with the doctor assuring the participants that all was ok, the football mother body decided to switch the would be mouth-watering encounter to Sunday, the following day.
But again, it was the same old story; no progress was made from the previous day and before long, the two National league giants lost hope and left the artificial turf in disbelief as no latest information was coming forth from the health experts.
Kafue Celtic team Manager Wilfred Banda said disappointing as it was, and factoring in the peculiar situation at hand, there was little they could do as the decision to play was beyond their shoulders.
“We are equally disturbed and at pains to say the least because we did our tests earlier on Tuesday and we were assured of results before Saturday, but we don’t know what has caused this anomaly, so as it is, there is little we can do, just like our opponents (Leopards) who are concerned. Our hands are tied too because we cannot play without clearance and ignore the recommended health guidelines. We did our part so if results are not here, even when they are negative or not, we can’t force things,” said Banda.
And Prison Leopards Director of Sports Godfrey Mbewe told Eden Media that COVID-19 is a dicey thing not to joke with and they cannot take the risk to force the team to play.
“I am sure you are aware that we are handling a lot of inmates and if anything went wrong here, it means we can create a very big bush fire which we can fail to extinguish in our correctional facilities. So it’s quite unfortunate especially when you consider the expenses incured and all that. So I think for us going forward, whereever we go, be it at home or away, as long as we are not sure, then we will find it difficult to play,” said Mbewe.
The other Eden games that went on the tight spotlight because of a similar situation were those of Police College vs Nchanga Rangers and Young Green Eagles vs Malaiti Rangers, save for the Zambeef vs Muza F.C that failed because of fixture miscommunication between the two sides.