FIFA President Gianni Infantino says that football development must occur in appropriate environments in order to present opportunities for young talent to thrive.
Infantino yesterday commissioned the new FAZ Accommodation Centre, whose construction was funded by the FIFA Forward Programme.
“Welcome to this beautiful facility, a site which I’m very proud to inaugurate in the presence of all of you,” Infantino said.
“It is a site which shows what we are all about. We are about girls and boys, we are about hope and opportunity, we are about passion and creating possibilities for children in this beautiful country to shine at the highest stage.”
The FIFA chief added that the facility would help many young boys and girls in their ambitions to become top professionals in the game.
“To do this, we need to have a professional environment, we need the possibilities to bring the boys and girls to the next level, to the top level, and this accommodation centre is exactly what we need.”
Meanwhile, FAZ President Andrew Kamanga says the FAZ Accommodation Centre will cushion its financial burden associated with camping national teams.
“We have a total of nine national teams at the moment for both male and female that range from Under-15 to the senior national teams. There are times when we have to camp half of these teams at the same time in preparing for different competitions, which is a huge cost on our already stretched envelope,” said Kamanga.
Infantino was on a two-day working visit to Zambia, during which time he inspected various FIFA-funded projects.
