By Mutheliso Phiri
On 28 February 2025, the Sports Council of Zambia (SCZ) will find itself at the centre of a contentious issue it cannot directly control.
SCZ Chief Executive Officer Sombwa Musunsa, citing advice from the Attorney General, maintains that the tenure of the current Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president, vice president, and executive committee – who were elected during the annual general meeting on 27 February 2021 – expires at the end of their four-year term on 28 February 2025. Musunsa says beyond this date, their mandate ceases, and any decisions taken thereafter would lack constitutional legitimacy unless they are re-elected in accordance with FAZ statutes.
However, this interpretation is problematic, as it overlooks a crucial distinction.
Andrew Kamanga is the only member of the current FAZ executive whose first term in office was extended by eleven months due to exceptional circumstances that disrupted the elections initially scheduled for March 2020. This is a critical factor in determining the timing of the upcoming elections. The current approach appears to – incorrectly add these additional eleven months into his formal term, thereby distorting the electoral cycle and bringing it to an end in February instead of March.
Since this extension arose from extraordinary circumstances – court injunctions and COVID-19 restrictions – that delayed the normal electoral process, it would be erroneous to count the eleven months as part of Kamanga’s standard four-year term. When these extra months are excluded, his second four-year term is set to end in March 2025, not February.
In contrast, the other executive committee members will have served precisely four years by 28 February 2025. This distinction is critical in assessing the tenure of the current FAZ leadership, and the SCZ, Attorney General, and other stakeholders must consider it when making decisions regarding the electoral timeline.
Andrew Kamanga’s tenure will be valid until March, while that of the executive committee will end on 28 February.
In order to resolve this discrepancy, the most logical approach is to acknowledge that Kamanga’s four-year term should be measured from his original election date in March 2016, discounting the additional eleven months that led to his re-election in February 2021.
While holding the FAZ Annual General Meeting (AGM) in March 2025 aligns with Kamanga’s tenure it extends that of the other executive committee members by a month. That extension is immaterial, in my opinion, if holding the election in March would align the tenures of the FAZ president and the executive committee.
