FIFA This, FIFA That

John Mukela dissects the FAZ election saga—what began as a seamless coronation for Andrew Kamanga soon descended into a chaotic contest that exposed deep fractures in Zambian football governance.

Andrew Kamanga leaned back into the soft comfortable folds of the rich coffee-coloured leather sofa, glanced sideways to listen to the man on his left, and smiled gleefully.

It felt as though he was on top of the world on cloud nine.

And quite probably, he was.

He likes the casual look and this time was no different.

Charcoal woollen trousers, chequered navy blazer and sky-blue shirt, the very picture of triumphant bliss – and for good enough reason.

In part, here is how a Lusaka-based news publication reported it: “Andrew Kamanga has secured another term as president of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) after running unopposed in the electoral process.

“Kamanga was officially declared duly elected this evening after all eight other contenders failed to meet the constitutional requirements set by FAZ. The announcement was made by FAZ electoral committee chairman Ronald Hatoongo during a press briefing in Lusaka.”

The report concluded emphatically: “With this victory, Kamanga will lead FAZ for the 2025–2029 term, continuing his tenure at the helm of Zambian football.”

Eulogising his achievements in glowing terms, the report outlined how his leadership was marked by efforts to improve Zambian football governance and infrastructure, and that his next term was expected to build upon these foundations.

But another writer in another national publication wrote after the May 9 elections of how FAZ had been plagued by divisions, infighting and split into rival camps, fuelling a toxic environment in the nine years that Kamanga had presided as the association’s boss.

Announcing the candidates prior to the elections, elections chairman Hatoongo knew the unease his announcement was likely to elicit and that it was not going to go down well with much of the audience.

So, in an attempt to circumvent the ire of his audience, he couched his announcement in legalese.

“…The electoral committee draws its authority from article 52 of the FAZ constitution as well as articles 4-7 of the FAZ electoral code (2020)…” etc.

When announcing the first of these criteria, Hatoongo was barely able to hide his enthusiasm.

“The first one,” he paused, casting a sweeping accusatory glance around the room, “is the integrity test!”

Pointing out that the dreaded integrity test was carried out by the “governance and review committee,” he went on to outline its various provisions.

Next, eligible provincial candidates were named, followed by eligible executive committee members.

Saving the best for last and setting the tone for his next announcement of the top three eligible executive committee members, including the FAZ president, Hatoongo let out a mischievous little chuckle and said, amid more stifled chuckles from the audience, “Let me drink some water!…before I go to the elephant in the room!…hehehehe!”

Then, taking his time and in no hurry, he proceeded to swig several exaggerated gulps from his bottle of mineral water, and from the audience a lone voice broke the silence, shouting, “water break!”

Finally, Hatoongo exclaimed, “So!…Exco!” and proceeded to name the two candidates for the Zambia premier league executive committee seat, declaring both candidates ineligible.

Next were the four candidates for vice president, two of whom were declared ineligible.

Then another water break and more chuckles.

“For the position of president…yeah!…again like I said we’re guided by the statutes and the standards. If you don’t meet any of them, you fall off. We don’t compromise. We’re guided only by the law!…nothing else!”

Hatoongo then proceeded to read his prepared script: “…by virtue of the powers vested in me by the FAZ statutes, I, Ronald Hatoongo…” etc.

What unfolded next could not have been scripted by a playwright, in its farcical brilliance.

Disqualification of all Kamanga’s eight rival candidates, for one reason or another, left Kamanga as the sole eligible candidate.

Elected “unopposed” and sparking a public outcry, an appeals committee was later forced to re-open the contest, only this time, fielding a total of four candidates for the FAZ presidency.

Thereafter, there were several twists and turns, before finally, a few days before the final elections, enter Fashion Sakala.

With his bombshell audio, the nutshell of which was that Kamanga had “integrity” issues that he needed to clear, the knives were out.

So much for the much-lauded integrity test, which Kamanga had earlier passed with flying colours.

Finally with votes cast and results released, Kamanga had lost heavily, polling 20 votes against his main rival Keith Mweemba’s 45, with Adrian Kashala in third place at 17 votes.

But it was the outcry against Kamanga’s earlier “victory” that had spared FAZ a dubiously elected president unpopularly installed.  

Undisguised and in full view of the Zambian public, a brazen attempted coup was stopped in its tracks.

Kamanga would have been exonerated had the result of the polling been reversed in his favour. But he had run his race and his time was up.

Under his watch, the dismal record of achievement in the men’s game was part of the bad while the soaring triumph of the women’s teams was a marvel.

The result for the presidential seat was a clear and bold call for change against the two old guard candidates, with their vote tally almost split equally at 17 for Adrian Kashala and 20 for Kamanga.

“Change candidate” Mweemba’s 45 votes was an affirmation of the FAZ delegates’ resolve to chart a new course.

What Mweemba does with his newly-won mandate is now entirely in his own hands.

The FAZ top three of Mweemba, vice president Mutale Ng’andu and secretary general Ruben Kamanga were introduced to delegates at the ongoing 75^th FIFA congress currently underway in Paraguay.

They will soon be sucked into the hierarchical world of football governance, with its in-built governance challenges.

Paradoxically, “independence” is the first of these challenges, where the carte blanch oversight rules accord football associations free rein to literally supervise themselves, with big brother FIFA hovering in the background like a Saturday nightclub bouncer.

The second is cash, where the money-making potential makes football administration a lucrative cash cow.

And so, independence and money can often become a dangerous cocktail that can fuel delusions of grandeur among officials, thereby setting them up to stumble and fail.

Mweemba and his team are obviously aware that the public is watching closely because for the fans, all that matters are results and goals.

Not stories and appeals of FIFA this, FIFA that, when questions start to mount as the going gets tough.

The author is Managing Partner of the MakanDay Centre for Investigative Journalism.