The Zambia national team could earn an automatic spot at the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) with their opponents Mozambique potentially set to withdrawal from the final round of qualifiers.
Chipolopolo are due to face the Black Mambas of Mozambique in back-to-back final round CHAN qualifiers slated for 21st and 28th December respectively.
However, Zambia could now get a free pass to the tournament with Mozambique about to pull out their participation from the qualifiers due to financial difficulties and ongoing post-election insecurities in that country.
FAZ President Andrew Kamanga has confirmed the possibility of the encounter against Mozambique being called off while awaiting official confirmation from the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
“We are keeping our fingers crossed on the situation in Mozambique that has put our fixture against them in jeopardy given the post-election crisis,” Kamanga wrote this morning in his weekly column on the official FAZ Facebook page.
Meanwhile, Kamanga says the Chipolopolo will continue their preparations under the tutelage of Wedson Nyirenda despite the uncertainty surrounding the tie against Mozambique.
“However, we will not drop the ball in terms of preparation as we want to be ready for that assignment. Our preparations are progressing normally for the December 21 away tie and December 28 home match in Ndola,” Kamanga added.
Chipolopolo head into their second week of preparations for the CHAN qualifiers on Tuesday with Nyirenda summoning a 27-member squad of all locally based players.
