By Emmanuel Mukuka
Football expert Ponga Liwewe believes Zambia’s exit from the Cameroon 2021 CHAN tournament is an indication that the local league is not producing players that can compete at the highest level.
Chipolopolo were eliminated from the CHAN on Sunday evening following a 3-1 loss to defending champions Morocco in the quarterfinal match played in Douala.
In a written analysis, Liwewe, who is at the CHAN in Cameroon, questioned the caliber of players the Zambian league is producing.
Prior to losing to Morocco, coach Micho’s side had beaten Tanzania 2-0 before posting a 1-1 draw against Guinea and a goalless draw against Namibia.
The former FAZ General Secretary emphasized that playing against Morocco was always going to be a huge task for Zambia.
“One question we must ask ourselves is Zambian football developing the type of player who can compete at the highest levels of the game? The domestic league is the barometer of where the game stands and if performances in CAF competitions, club, and national team, are used as a guide to where the game stands, there is a need to relook at what we are churning out and redesign the mold,” Liwewe wrote.
“A thorough technical review from the bottom of the pyramid from grassroots, clubs, provincial levels and youth national teams must surely be carried out to generate players who can make Zambia force it once was.”
He concluded:”Our players need to be able to hold their own in football’s top league’s that are dominated by West and North African players. The European football statistics on African players speak for themselves.”
