By Mathews Kabamba | Zambia Daily Mail
GOVERNMENT fears that Zambia may lose USA based defender Aime Mabika to the Congolese national team should they fail to move quickly and naturalise the player.
Mabika was born in Zambia to Congolese parents before relocating to the USA at the age of eight.
As it stands, the player who was first called to the national team earlier this year by Aljosa Asanovic is eligible to play for Zambia, the USA and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts Elvis Nkandu said on Sunday that Zambia needs to strike first.
“If we wait, we may face a challenge where Congo DR may get him. I think we have no option but to expedite on the process so that he becomes one of the national team players.
“The issues of Mabika, if you have seen how our colleagues are playing at the World Cup, one thing that should come to every person’s mind is naturalisation.
“You have seen the Morocco national team, a lot of players. I think a number of them were born in Spain, Portugal and they play in Morocco. It shows us that it is important for us as a country to do the same,” Nkandu said.
Nkandu said this when he appeared on ZNBC’s Talking Football Show on Radio on Sunday.
“What was started by FAZ, we need to up skill on it, the issue of Mabika has attracted a lot of attention from the word go. I have been in contact with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“The last time I checked he said everything is fine. I think very soon we will be able to address the nation how far we have gone. I want to tell the nation that everything is fine,” Nkandu said
Mabika plays for USA Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.
So what the minister is admitting to is that, the government has been sitting on this case with no sensible reason to justify it. Morocco does well with the diaspora based players and all of a sudden this case comes up. It’s hard to understand us as a people sometimes. Always quick to copy but never bold enough to be trail blazers..
So soooooo true my brother. These politicians are basically for show, expecting anything from them that is new is beyond their capacity
I don’t understand anything said by the Minister. He has not mentioned why it has taken long to sort out the young man’s Naturalisation.
He is speaking like all politicians just spinning his words and sugarcoating.
Tell us what’s pending and the reason it’s taken longer to sort this out. This can discourage the young man Mabika. Its been close to a year or over a year now.
He didn’t say anything honestly. Just empty statements. Not even worth printing. Reading between the lines; they haven’t done anything and have been sitting on their you know what’s