BY ADRIAN MWANZA –
THE planned residential camp for the national handball team ahead of the 2018 Zone-Six Games slated for April has been indefinitely suspected due to the cholera outbreak in Lusaka and other parts of the country.
Handball Association of Zambia (HAZ) General Secretary Josab Changa said his association has decided against putting the team into camp to respond the national calls to suspend gathering which could further spread the epidemic.
Changa said while the regional games were important, the need to safeguard the lives of the players outweighed the gravity of the games.
“As you are aware, we have this serious outbreak of cholera in Lusaka and it will be bad if we allow the players to go into camp because it will be highly risky,” he said.
He said the executive was aware that time was not on their side but that they did not want to take any chances.
Changa also revealed that the hosting country for the Zone-6 games had not been picked yet but the games would be played from April 21-29.
“Three countries have been shortlisted and Zambia is among them. There is also Zimbabwe and Namibia but the final venue had been confirmed,” he said.
He however, said if things went to the worst, his executive would find alternatives camping site because time was not on their side.
“We pray that this cholera issue comes to pass soonest because time is not on our side and if we are to perform well, we need to start preparations early,” he said.