FAZ chief Andrew Kamanga struck a confident pose ahead of the March 12 FIFA Council seat election when he appeared on the continent popular Soccer Africa Show on SuperSport.
The FAZ president who wound up his Cosafa region campaign trail said he had earned enough stripes for his work in the FIFA Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee and CAF Finance Committee where his deputy president to earn a seat on the fabled FIFA Council table.
Kamanga also said his rounded contribution to the Zambian game which had seen national teams like the Copper Queens qualify to back-to-back Olympics and a memorable FIFA World Cup appearance in 2023 placed the nation in good stead on the global platform with Chipolopolo back in the frame with back-to-back Africa Cup appearances.
The under-17 Women National Team were at the 2024 FIFA Women World Cup in the Dominican Republic.
“When it comes to the credentials whether on the pitch, I think I have earned the stripes, we have delivered Zambian football, I have a fair understanding of what it takes to run a football federation in Africa under difficult conditions,” he says.
“Finance is always a challenge, I have had the opportunity to sit in the CAF finance committee which obviously gives me an insight with what happens with financing in African football. To wrap it up I have been in the FIFA Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee as well as compliance committee for the last eight years. So in terms of credentials, I am reasonably qualified but the decision will be up to the other FA presidents who may think that I am there to serve their interests better but also see what differences we can make.”
He adds: “For me the biggest issue will always be that FIFA has done very well with the forward program but what we need to do now is to innovate, create more opportunities for African FAs to be able to move and become financially independent so we move away from the government dependence, which is the real challenge. If we can fix that in the next four to five years African football is going to change for the better going forward.”
Kamanga says Zambia had won over FIFA in investing in projects as they had been complaint with the stringent resource guidelines.
“It is a merit based system, so you deliver, you get access to more funds, if you don’t you don’t get. Now are guaranteed to spend $10 million for the new technical centre in the new cycle which will start in 2026. We were supported by the FIFA president Gianni Infantino and it was remarkable,” he says.
“The whole idea is to have one facility where you have got accommodation, the federation, the playing pitches, everything sitting in one place. If you have been to Morocco it is a marvel, of course that is the most expensive on the continent. The idea is that we want to start with one big centre then replicate it in the 10 provinces. In that way, we expect that we will improve our football by having FAZ academies in the 10 provinces.”
FAZ says he was mindful of the power play at CAF elections but hoped his track record at FIFA and CAF would enhance his chances.
“Chances are there but I have just finished up my campaign within Cosafa, I was in the region and visited all my colleagues. Of course they have given me the endorsement but as you know with CAF elections everything happens 24 hours before. So I have to be sure that everyone who is promising to vote, who has endorsed is delivering the actual vote,” he says.
Kamanga says 2025 promised to be a great year for Zambian football given the teams that had qualified for CAF competitions.
“To close it off this year (2025) will be very good for Zambian football, as at the end last year (2024) we have qualified to all the CAF tournaments, the men’s senior in December, women’s in July, the Chan in August, under-20 which is starting in May and the under-17 which will be starting end of this month,” he says.
“So we have ticked off all the boxes and we are moving Zambian football forward. So we are going to all the CAF tournaments this year, five of them.”
Kamanga will battle it out with nine other contestants for the five FIFA positions availed for the male folk while one seat is reserved for female contestants.
Full list of candidates:
Andrew Kamanga (Zambia)
Hany Abou Rida (Egypt) seeking re-election
Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco) seeking re-election
Yahia Ahmed (Mauritania)
Souleiman Waberi (Djibouti)
Amaju Pinnick (Nigeria) seeking re-election
Idriss Diallo (Cote d’Ivoire)
Mathurin Chakus (Benin) seeking re-election
Augustine Senghor (Senegal)
Djibrilla Hamidou Pele (Niger)
By FAZ Media
