Chipolopolo coach George Lwandamina has called a total of thirteen foreign based players for next month’s Afcon 2017 qualifier against the “Harambe Stars of Kenya.
Association spokesman Nkweto Tembwe has also clarified that striker, Jacob Mulenga has been excused from this camp but will still be considered for future assignment.
“Jacob has telephoned the coach and asked that he be excused from this assignment” Tembwe told ‪#‎fazfootball‬ this morning.
Those called are Kennedy Mweena, Nathan Sinkala, Chisamba Lungu, Rainford Kalaba, Kabaso Chongo,Emmanuel Mbola, Stopilla Sunzu, Lubambo Musonda, Aaron Katebe, Collins Mbesuma, Evans Kanga, Kondwani Mtonga and Ronald Kampamba.
Meanwhile,only Jacob Ngulube of Mufulira Wanderers is absent from the local Chipolopolo camp that regrouped in Lusaka yesterday. Nkana striker, Walter Bwalya who was absent from camp last week, has reported and was part of the team in training at a Heroes Stadium in Lusaka this morning.
[FAZ]
I took J. Mulenga to be one of our most desciplined and patriotic.But nw am thnkng otherwise.It’s time to 4get hm and see where his bigheadedness will lead him
There is nonsense going on in Zambian football…when you try to seek answers you are sidelined like Kola…Jacob is protesting and rightfully so!
Chapwa iyi bola tukalusa, without emmanuel mayuka, if jacob has refused to come call Rodger kola and emmanuel mayuka otherwise ba kabudo aba mwasala like sate sate,kangwa evans, awee tefintu, just speak to jacob nicely he will come.
i cant blame jacob even if he cañ bé called he wil stil start the match frm the bénch. usléss local coaches!!
Good team selection. On jacob mulenga, i think let him stay where he is bcoz every proffesional player would accept every coaches decision. De team to me looks gud an balanced.Go zambia Go.
u wil see what wil happen to chisamba and lubambo musonda they wil start from the bench or substute them by yo pathetic coach. This time lwandamina we need a win we wil not toralet nosenses we are tired of failing to beat minows!
Give the guy a break, he is not in-charge of the team!! He is not the one who decides who is coming or playing for that matter…let the man be!
Ndeloleshafye.m…
Ba Jacob Mulenga, what has gone wrong now??? I think Chris Katongo has an hand into Jacob turn down. Don’t go with what friends tells you? If Zambia qualify to the world cup they will be no place for big headed players!!! Good days are coming for Zambia.
‘IF’…no confidence daddy to qualify suwa!!? ‘WHEN’ Zambia qualifys….!
Jacob should hv given it a try coz it was Janza who sidelined him n not George.
We should also bear in mind that Chicken only trained the team from a Wednesday before Guinea Bissau game. We can count on faith that he will do the right thing.
I also don’t expect Kapota Kayawe and Patson Daka anywhere near the last 18.
Kalu must know that any interference in team selection will be catastrophic as he used his coaching time already in 2003-2006.
We wait and see. Go Zambia Go!
Thank-you Lwandamina for this strong team. You respect fans .Be technical on who should start that is where solving of an equation starts!!!!
He shud have included Singuluma and Rodgers Kola.
I can’t blame jacob mulenga on this one I blame the local coaches for sideline him in the name of bulding the team.jacob mulenga is our best strike at the moment by the way I can’t see the name of roger kola in the team.what crime did he commited pathetic team selection.I just hope lubambo and chisamba lungu won’t be put on the beach
Team selection is a problem, especially post Herve Renard and Patrive era. Deserving players have been left out and undeserving ones selected. Jacb is protesting. Even me, would have reacted in the same manner. Chisamba Lungu complained too, am sure there are several other players complaining in silence. For this selection, what is Nathan doing? he has been onnthe bench at TP. Why have Boyd Mkandawire and Mubanga been left out? In LT there is a nice article on teach selection.
Very right
Jacob has had issues for expressing patriotic his opinion. Jacobs issue has not started today, but begun way back at AFCON2013, where he was put on the bench and played only 12 to 13 minutes of the group stage. He was the best of our strikers but was side-lined, we all know the story. And then he was dropped by the FAZ National Team selectors
Why was he left out in the last game? Now that FAZ are panicking, then they wake and say to themselves “let us Jacob Mulenga”. Bunch of losers
Many soccer fans/supporters have and did complain of team selection, but FAZ selectors only listen when things start falling apart
Iya ma patriotic apa tapali. How many families have eaten patriotism, after loosing their breadwinners? The answer is ZERO despite their commitment to the KK11? Who has helped them? No one not even Govt. So Jacob earn your money and let FAZ go and play if winning is something important to them. To it has not been the case. Waking up after drawing with small teams
It is no secret that we have a mountain to climb. There is a lot of pressure on the boys now, cause should both Kenya and Congo win, then we will be in big trouble and this is why FAZ are now panicking. They FAZ can see and feel it. Ati Jacob, why now foolishness
Yaba, awe mwe
Meant “Jacob has had issues for expressing his opinion”
Jacob is done the right thing. Zambia doesn’t stand a chance of winning in Kenya. People should wake up at Football house.
Rodgers kola???????
FAZ selectors Sunzu has just recovered from his injury and has not played any game. Let him recover before calling him, otherwise that boy who injured him will be on his knee again lol
Chisamba has been injured and would be out for 3 weeks
Sure ba FAZ don’t you know about this?
Bloggers & ZAMFOOT has Evans Kangwa played any games this season? Anyone with data
That’s true. Sunzu and Chisamba cannot be 100% fit right now. This will be a huge gamble.
Its just like you read my mind Justice.
Yes he has. Check on chipolopolodiehards a face book page, always up to date.But hope he calls Kola.
Thanks my Brother for the info, well then no doubt he deserves a call up. I do not doubt his capabilities
The problem is corrupt inept Kalusha Bwalya, get ride of this cancer to Zambian football and all will start going right for Zambian football, we have the talent. A lot, if not all players hate Kalu’s pompous “leadership” at Faz. As a matter of fact, players are not respected by Kalu and his crew. Kalu thinks Zambia still rely on him to get us wins and we don’t. As matter of fact, I hate at the fact that Kalu is president of FAZ due to his corruption and the way he is mismanaging the tax payers resources that should be going to take care of our players. Kalu’s 80% source of income is FAZ and all those media/marketing deals for the Zambian league which are meant to improve the game in Zambia,the money is channeled to furnish Kalu’s and his wife’s lavish life in South Africa, while our players that are sweating on the field are paid peanuts. This is why I hate Kalu’s “leadership”(which I refer to as his scam) and I will not drink his kool Aid as his cadres do. I wish the whole team could gang up and boycott on grounds that they do not need Kalu as their boss an he is inept,corrupt and lousy. Kalu is pathetic and he needs to be out. I support Jacob on this decision and for those labeling Jacob as unpatriotic, put yourselves running around the pitch only for your pay to be channeled to Kalu’s living expenses outside Zambia, white your family is struggling to meet ends meet. Screw that! Kudos to Jacob for having the ball’s to remind Kalu that he missed the days of slavery when people would work for little or no pay, while the master is busy having fun at a beach house with madam as Kalu is doing.
I support Jacob’s decision.it doesn’t make sense when a player is used in qualifying games after qualifying,he is sidelined from the final squad to represent the country.as long as Kalu remains faz president talented players will always be sidelined.the list is endless Moses Sichone,Elijah Tana, Andrew Sinkala,Emmanuel Zulu,Gift Kampamba,Harry Milanzi the guys were very talented but were not given chance to play for this beautiful country because they deferred with Kalu.the same thing is happening to Fwayo,Clifford Mulenga,Kola,Chris K not forgetting a new victim Jacob Mulenga. Also Kennedy Mudenda and Situmbeko I suspect they are victims as well. surely can you compare them to Daka.something must be done before we are humiliated by small teams.
Some of these players was due to indiscipline.
They became indiscipline out of frustrations my dear.
Very true
you wil see their 18 man squad thats when u wil see players like patson daka and kayawe kapota, they wil also start the game in nairobi kenya and finish 90 minutes, and thats when we will be waired by the harambe stars of kenya.
“Association spokesman Nkweto Tembwe has clarified that Jacob has been excused from this camp…” So what has been clarified here? I expected the clarification to center on why Jacob asked to be excused. I wish the media could be more investigative and more informative instead of relying on the crumbs from Faz. There’s obviously more to this story than meets the eye. Ba Zamfoot you too could show some resourcefulness by contacting Jacob directly to find out why.
On a different note; it seems our Minister of sports talks too much. He is now calling Kenya as a non-footballing nation hence Zambia won’t accept anything less than a win. (The Post). I admire his eagerness to pump up icimwela but this is not the time to put unnecessary pressure on the boys. Someone should tell him to tone down a bit especially after his very recent public embarrassment regarding funds for the new coach.
Lol. I was thinking the same thing. Clarifying that he is not coming. The why gets completely lost on everyone you just nod your head with your recording devices and go put it in a paper and we call it journalism.
ba Jacob its true you were mistreated by the failed coach janza.he benched you in his entire reign.for the country’ sake and the fans you would have moved on.FAZ is a failed organization under kalu,they have no strategy at top hence all these outcomes.
We will win in kenya
let j mulenga be wat has he achieved in the zambian foot and plz u should know that hes has never been the best striker,c.katongo is far much better than him even walter bwalya is beter than lilya ikula
LUBAMBO MUSONDA CHISAMBA LUNGU BAKAMBILE PLZ NOT BENCH
We will miss Jacob. Am glad WALTER BWALYA is in camp. Mbesuma can lead the young lads of the likes of Evans Kangwa, WALTER BWALYA. Supported by veteran Winston Kalengo, we do have enough quality and depth to take on the Harambe Stars punch for punch and come back home with a result.
Why didn’t win the last qualifying game played at home for that matter. Since when did Zambia win away from home in a competitive match, Botswana, Namibia and the Cape V. have embarrassed us away from home, and the excuse from FAZ and the coaches have been that there were no small teams anymore. This is not true, it is in fact the other way round. Zambia has nose dived from being a big team to a small team, that anyone can beat. Just look at the last world qualifiers, Ghana won games away from home and beat teams that we had either drawn or lost to
We used to the use calculator football results, always depending on other teams to help us. If so and so beats so and so then with the help of God we beat Sudan in Khartoum, then we will qualify, or if so and so lose and draw bla,bla, bla………
Sure kwena, all these years and we never change
Jacobs absence is going to be a problem, given the physical stature of the Kenyan team, but teams like Spain, Chile, etc have managed to overcome that with skill and superior tactical acumen. One of which is lacking in the Zambia national team so I am somewhat going to maintain a subdued optimism.
Kenya should not be underrated under any circumstances. They have the ability to beat us. Zambia will have to rely on Chisamba and Kalaba to provide the width and skill needed to unlock the defence. We are lacking a centre forward with enough mobility and strength to finish off their work, which is why Mbesuma might be suitable for the job.
Defensively; we are in trouble. Sunzu hasn’t played in a while, this leaves Katebe and Munthali to cover which I hope works out. Mweene is a plus because he is finally getting much needed gametime in SA.
Midfield, we need to shore up that centre. We are yet to find anyone to partner or even replace Nathan Sinkala, but we have to wait and see.
By the way, maybe Jacob is missing because of the artificial turf that bothers his knee. If you guys recall, the doctors at Utrecht recommended not using Mulenga in games on artificial turf because it affected his knee.
Maybe, but i think he is more worried about disrupting his good form in china, there is pressure on him not to leave there.
Guys, this selection issue started a long time ago even before Kalu became Captain or FAZ chief.One case in point was the sidelining of Lucky Msiska for Johnstone Bwalya, Stone ‘Mkango’ Nyirenda for Kenneth Bubble Malitole. A very talented Perry Mutapa was also sidelined for Moses Sichone with the coach commenting “we need direct players, the midfield is not a dancing arena”. Under George Mungwa (MHSRIP) alot happened in terms of team selection and the nichekeleko snydrome came up. So it is historical, whose trend as fans we should protest.In Brazil there used to be an exceptionally mtalented player in Edwardo, but he had an explosive temper, so the coaches decided to leave him for Bebeto, there were protests from fans.
Gb, I was with you until you said Moses Sichone ahead of Perry. Perry was a midfielder and Sichone a fullback. Perry had a lot of injury issues and it was Mungwa who gave that young man his first opportunity, problem is Perry Mutapa got overshadowed by Gift Kampamba who carried the midfield on his shoulders for quite a while.
I do not support what Jacob said!!! He is not in a position to expect allot of minutes even as desperate as we are. The bottom line is he has had chances to play for Zambia but never scores enough goals, even now we dont know what kind if any chemistry he has with currentvplayers or system, no one should be thinking about how minutes or if they will play. You are called you come you find out!
No one player should be thinking this way it doesnt matter who it is!!!!
This all started with Chris Katongo and where it ends is in allot of sh*t! This started because we dont have respect and leadership!!!
The right thing has happened and chicken george is thankfully not frying him alive, he still will be considerd in future, not like Chris Katongo. But Jacob should know he had a chance to come and earn a place, but maybe he also let the team down in a difficult match.
Where is Felix Katongo, where is Chris Katongo, where to Isaac Chansa. Are they training are they benched. Are their careers over?
Gents do you know that in all this, we have not heard anything from jacob himself. I personally know the boy. And everything they say is not quoted by him. He is a person who holds no grudges at anything and you will always find smiling and just getting on with life. Its God first , family and work. A very honest honestt boy. Also bery humble. Jacob i respect whatever decision you make and God continue to bless you.
And every national team knows the players they are going to use based on the way they perform at clubs. You dont choose based on training. Come on mwebantu. National team should be for every zambian who is performing week in week out. not who performed during a friendly game at the national team. Lets help zambia. We need to open our eyes and stop praying for miracles where we are not honest and put in the work.
The team is okey, i am only worried of Sunzu and Chisamba lungu’s fitness.
We will win Kenya…
Entrusting Lwandamina with the National team is like giving a monkey a gun. He will pay the price for choosing names ahead of performance
Chicken George took a group of unknown players to the world cup and did quite well there (remember Canada?) lets not be too quick to condemn. He might have got it wrong in the GB game but he deserves some credit, even just a little bit.
I don,t think we should blame the Lwandamina for he does not select the team. The team is selected by some guys at football house
My question is? How can Lwandamina accept to coach a team he has not fully picked? To me this is equal to the old style of parents finding a wife for you and you just say yes, I will marry her
Lwandamina has the right to say no bwana, please coach the team yourself, as you are the one who picked the players
True, but then again Lwandamina like any other local coach doesn’t earn enough money to drop an opportunity to coach the national team and earn a bit of extra bucks for his family. The coach that will ever stand up to Kalu and his cronies will basically be blacklisting himself from the national team. We cant ignore the whole poverty aspect here. Remember in the ZPL we consider a 30,000rand/month salary as breaking the bank so our coaches are in dire straits truth be told, they just work with what they are given.
Heard you my brother
wow…..its amazing how we jump to conclusions. We have no idea why Jacob has withdrawn but are very quick to look at it negatively even to go as far as say he is boycotting because he has been overlooked lately. FAZ should give some clarity as to why the player has withdrawn but before that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
I hear some people expressing worry about Sunzu and Chisamba but after watching a couple of the local ZPL league games on Supersport I must say a half fit Sunzu is still better than what we have in the local league truth be told. Chisamba is a special talent and we all know he brings his best consistently. Yes he has made mistakes but who hasn’t. He is one of our most consistent players so lets not worry too much.
Traditional 4-4-2 with Mbesuma and one of the youngsters leading the attack, Lubambo and Kalaba on the wings, Sunzu and Katebe will make a solid central defence, Sinkala or Kondwani in the hole and Chisamba just above in advanced midfield. I honestly think we have the personnel in place to win this, if we fail it will boil down to the tactics applied. We should not play the long ball to Kalaba that has not worked, we should not play the long ball at all especially in the absence of Jacob upfront, we are traditionally a pass and move team not long ball team. If the coach takes a back to basics approach on tactics we should be fine, no experiments on this one.
My brother coming back from a knee injury has to be taken slowly and it is for this reason HR does not want to rush Sunzu. He would like him to be fully fit before he can use him, other wise this will be a big gamble and a big risk
I feel Sunzu should be left out at the moment as we really have no issues with our defence and goalkeeper. Mtonga, Katebe and Munthali can do the job
Another issue is that what happens if Sunzu plays and gets injured? For sure FAZ will not pay for his treatment just like last time. It will be his club to foot the bill. These are some of the things I personally think about
Jacob has given Lwandamina the reasons as to why he is not coming, and FAZ are very well aware of this?
Cheers
I hear you but then again truth be told had it been that there is a chance his knee would give in to a long term injury as a result of the Kenya game Lille would not have released him for the game, its also in their best interest to protect their investment. He was on the bench in their last game which shows he must be back to full physical fitness though match fitness maybe an issue. I was in Lesotho when we drew 1-1 and Sunzu was visibly uncomfortable as he had just come back from an injury at the time but the same HR played him ahead of Katebe who was on the bench. Even HR recognised that a half fit Sunzu is a better option than what else we have available.
Spot on man.We have the personnel to do the job and our focus should be to support the coach and the team. It will bore down to the tactics employed and how the players respond.
What we should not do is to play with one striker as that will disadvantage us in a big way. Let Kenya know that we are there for serious business.
Jacob Mulenga has not spoken, the discussions on him are therefore just speculative. The team looks well balanced, credit to the coach for bringing back experience. I also think the mixing with on-form locally based players also further adds dynamism to the team.
I do not know how Roger Kola plays, but from the voices on this site, I get really inquisitive and would have loved to watch him play.
All the best ba Lwandamina, a well seasoned coach. With a well developed team spirit, this team can get really far.
Whereas for now we must focus on AFCON qualification, our main target should be that elusive World cup qualification
Kola my man only shined at U20 world cup. He has been given chances at national team by different coaches and has on several occasions disappointed. Bonetti, Renard, Lwandamina, and even Janza. Half baked performances all the time and when he gets back to his club, he ups it abit. How many goals has he scored for the national team and since when did he last score? Let them include him and maybe his time has come but i would if i were the coach.
Let is focus with what we have available.
Some are calling for Mayuka. On what basis?
So is the selection based on past performances or on current form? He’s had a decent past season in terms of goals. There could be many reasons why he didn’t impress last time he was called up (immaturity, pressure to impress, etc). We are in a crisis in as far as strikers are concerned. Is there any harm in giving him another chance based not on the past but on his current form? When was the last time Sate Sate or Daka made you feel confident enough?
Do you want to tell me that Kapota Kayawe and Patson Daka are better than Roger Kola? NO, NO, No. Please give Roger Kola some chance to prove his worth.
I am eager to see the final squad from Lwandamina. If he includes Daka and Kapota, then it will be evident somebody else above Lwandamina is responsible for team selection. That Walter Bwalya guy fron Nkana is even better than Daka. I am not saying Daka is bad, but he is good for U17 and U20, not senior national team. The boy is being rushed by powers that be.
People want to blame Lwandamina and Kalu for Jacobs issues? You spend so much time pouring scorn on these guys like they are rubber. Give them a break. Do you think Lwandamina for sure would want to spoil his image by dancing to the tune of ghost team selectors? He is being taken care of by ZESCO far better than the FA is doing.
Talk of Kalu himself, did the guy ever miss any call up? Did he put in mediocre performances when called upon? If you are honesty to yourself you will see that he was Disciplined and Patriotic through out. Let the young ones emulate him than trying to throw flake at him.
Jacob has his own shadow to deal with. 2012 he missed because of injury. 2013 he was not in top form. We all watched the Norway game and it was evident enough of the disaster to come when they went to South Africa. How many high performances has he put in when called upon apart from the Lesotho game? Kola is another character who despite you guys calling for him each time he is given a chance, he disappoints.
Kalu missed only 2 important call ups in his career
1. Vs Tunisia world cup game, in Tunis where Zambia needed a draw to go to the last round. PSV stopped him and the excuse was that he was injured, after 2 days he played for his club
2. Then he missed the return leg vs Ghana for the 1988 Olympic return game in Ghana. Good for us Ghana only beat us 1-0
The point is he he and FAZ have a hand in team selection, and that is where our problem is. Patson Daka and the young players being forced in the A team are his and will benefit if they are sold. This is where all is wrong
We have heard these stories by people like yourselves every time a certain player is not picked. How long shall it go on?
Jacob gave gave his reason according to the Daily Mail as “time to cement my place at the club” what crap is that. He has played over 10 games and scored almost the same number of goals. The fact is he wanted to command a place in the team without convincing the coach, a coach who was gracious enough to give him a call up in the first place. He has become too big for the team. Let him rest and chew his money quietly.
Every player called up has convinced the coach to be in the team and when they play, they have to do it with passion. Look at Mbesuma who has reinvented himself several times and still is gracious to answer the call. Patriotism is not about money – its about pride to belong to a nation and being identified to it. Yes it comes with its own benefits.
Kalu eating from where? Give the guy a break and offer some advice. Support the team. If Kalu has done something wrong let him be investigated or criticized or whatever but it has to be from an informed decision and with a view to make our game better not to malign and paint someone black because of his success.
Every player
This made think, Chris Katongo made every single if im not mistaken. If he was still captain do you think Chisamba would have said what he said, even Jacob would have thought twice such was the example he was setting.
Chris Katongo was an amazing captain. You will have to fight him for him not to come play.
Jacob mulenga has spoken, what he has said and what his position is in question. Let Jacob be excused but the national team cannot allow this precedence.
Let the team prepare, this is a big match.
Donashano Malama shud be played in midfield as a defensive midfielder in the Kenya game
He is more productive in that position. His strength and durability is vital for any team.In midfield he has vision coupled with great anticipation.
If Donasho plays number 6 it will mean benching Sinkala and or Kondwani…..Now that would be a very bad idea as both these guys are head and shoulders above Donasho.
Bloggers, the coach has announced the team to select from. Let’s focus our energies to analyze possible combinations that we can work with on the ground. We can only work with what is available.
That is the way to go.
A good example for a show of patriotism is Mbesuma. You the same public has finished him several times but what happened. The guy has always overcome the negativity around him and reinvented himself. Never turned down a call up in all these times and they have been many for him.
Patriotism has to be shown by both parties my bro. There’s a problem in the way players are selected for national duty. And when players question or protest against such malpractices they shouldn’t be labeled unpatriotic. Professional players see 1st hand how football is supposed to be run and how players are cared for and valued. When things are not done properly at their national teams, it affects their mind.
Lets leave afcon 2017 to serious teams like Congo Brazaville and Kenya. Infact Zambia will finish bottom of this group. We can’t beat any team from this group not even GB at home.
Ye men of little faith. We do not need such fans.
Jacob Mulenga said he wanted a written document from FAZ and state that he should be in the first eleven not a jim and jack to call him to feature in the national team. from closed sources and the source has demanded to remain anonymous.
Ba Tembwe has been lying every time serious issues are raised. It was Kamwambi who called Jacob and not Tembwe himself. Can we have serious pipo to run FAZ please.
All the best my Chipolopolo , Harambe stars we coming there for a win like it or yes.
And who/what is your source?
Jacob is only protesting for being sidelined in the past for no reason a tall. Soon many other senior players will emulate him.