The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has withdrawn the Women’s national team from the upcoming Turkish Invitational Tournament.
According to a statement by FAZ Communications manager Sydney Mungala availed to the ZamFoot Crew, The Association has done so because of challenges posed by the COVID-19 situation.
“The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) wishes to inform its membership and stakeholders that the Copper Queens outing to Turkey for an Eight-Nation Invitational Tournament has been canceled following challenges posed by the Covid-19 situation. Members of the Zambia Senior Women National Team underwent some Covid-19 tests with the results putting the trip into jeopardy.”
FAZ General Secretary Adrian Kashala who confirmed the development to FAZ media said the trip had been put off on medical grounds but preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will continue.
“We have decided to withdraw participation from the Turkey Eight-Nation Invitational Tournament after having had encountered some medical challenges in our preparation for the tournament,” he said.
“It is not an easy decision to make but we always have to prioritize the health of the players and technical staff at all times.”
Kashala went on to say that FAZ had learned lessons from the Chile outing for the Copper Queens that saw some players and staff endure prolonged isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic bound Copper Queens were due to head to Antalya, Turkey this week where they were grouped with Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, and Uzbekistan.
Coach Bruce Mwape had summoned 32 players including foreign-based players for the Turkey outing.
Please please inform the country of the number of girls who have tested covid19 positive from the shepolopolo team! Dont hide the truth from the people.! The revelations will assist the general populace appreciate the magnitude of the problem we are faced with. Dont let’s behave like some fat useless politicians who are super sensitive before an election. Let’s be positive and understand the depth of infection in our communities!
The nation has never been told how and at what stage the girls contracted the disease for the Chile trip since they must’ve been tested before departure, but only to end up in isolation on arrival?