Zambian women may not be allowed to play football in the Olympics if FIFA intervenes.
Zambia’s women may not be able to compete in the Olympics this summer as a result of Fifa threatening to suspend the football association due to allegations of money-laundering offenses against the president of the nation and “undue influence by third parties.”
The drug enforcement commission in Zambia this week accused Andrew Kamanga, the head of FAZ since 2016, of receiving government funding through deceptive means and participating in a fraud scheme. There are claims that he utilized the funds to pay for two friends’ flights to this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. Along with Madalitso Kamanga and Jairous Siame, who went to the tournament as part of FAZ’s support staff, the general secretary, Reuben Kamanga, was also charged. Everybody has refuted the accusations.
Fifa’s member associations officer, Kenny Jean-Marie, wrote in a letter addressed to FAZ last Friday that world football’s governing body had “taken interest” in the arrests. He requested “copies of any documents received in relation to the accusations” by Tuesday.
The letter also directed FAZ to hold its scheduled AGM last weekend despite an injunction, which accused Kamanga of changing the association’s constitution without following procedure, being filed in Zambia’s high court to stop it taking place. The injunction is understood to have been brought by a suspended club owner. The letter warns that failure to hold the AGM would provide possible grounds for suspension.
“The order of the High Court of Zambia dated 24 April 2024 appears to clearly amount to undue influence by third parties which could be considered as a violation of Article 19 paragraph 1 of the Fifa Statutes and Article 7 paragraph 1.g. of the CAF Statutes,” it reads. “For the avoidance of doubt, please note that the infringement of the aforementioned provisions of the FIFA and CAF Statutes may give rise to grounds for the suspension of FAZ irrespective of whether the infringement was attributed to FAZ or not.
The order of the High Court of Zambia dated 24 April 2024 appears to clearly amount to undue influence by third parties which could be considered as a violation of Article 19 paragraph 1 of the Fifa Statutes and Article 7 paragraph 1.g. of the CAF Statutes,” it reads. “For the avoidance of doubt, please note that the infringement of the aforementioned provisions of the FIFA and CAF Statutes may give rise to grounds for the suspension of FAZ irrespective of whether the infringement was attributed to FAZ or not.
“We would like to remind you that a suspended member association may not exercise any of its membership rights. The representative teams as well as the affiliated clubs of this federation can no longer take part in international competitions until the suspension has been lifted. In view of the foregoing, FAZ is directed to conduct its Annual General Meeting.”
The AGM could not proceed since a court on Saturday sustained the injunction and set a new hearing for this Thursday. Reuben Kamanga issued a statement, saying, “We had respectfully appeared at the court to apply for the discharge of the injunction, but the court has declined our application and set a new date for interparte hearing, which is Thursday.” “We promise to keep members informed at every stage and advise them to maintain composure.””It’s too early to say if there will be immediate consequences from Fifa,” Kamanga continued.
This month, Zambia’s women’s team qualified for the Olympics after defeating Morocco 3-2 overall. Bruce Mwape, their current coach, is reportedly still under investigation by FIFA following accusations of misbehavior published in the Guardian last year, both before and during the Women’s World Cup. He has refuted the allegations.
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