Zambia FA president: 2024 success must be sustained

Zambia won and qualified for almost every tournament on offer, including the U17 Men’s and Women’s COSAFA U17 Championship held recently in Johannesburg.

The U17 Men, Senior Men and Senior Women teams also qualified for their respective Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and Kamanga tells SABC Sport they now have to take things a step further.

"This year, other than the COSAFA U20, we've won all the competitions in the region – we are the U17 champions for boys and girls, and with the senior men and women it's the same," said Kamanga.

"If you look at AFCON, all our teams have qualified – the senior men qualified, the senior women, and then the U20 men, once the dates are set will be there, and the U17's have also made it.

"So, for us, it's been a very, very successful year, we just missed out on one cup in COSAFA, but what is important for us, especially now that we've gone into all the CAF competitions next year, will be to build on this success.

"In the Africa Cup competitions, we should really do well for us to sustain the success we've enjoyed now, so it's like building blocks – you build to get into CAF, and build from CAF into FIFA.

"Even in FIFA we have been there before and couldn't get out the groups, but next time when we get into those competitions, we expect that the teams will do much better and go a step further."

READ: Zambia double delight in COSAFA U17 Championships