By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE

ZAMBIA Rugby Union (ZRU) general secretary Francis Chitambo has announced his candidature to re-contest the position during the elective annual general meeting set for February 1.

 In an interview yesterday, Chitambo said he will defend his position during the elective AGM that will be held at the Konkola Rugby Club in Chililabombwe.

 Chitambo, who was appointed in this position following the departure of then general secretary Hennie Swanepoel to South Africa, said he was eyeing the position to continue with the positive programmes aimed at uplifting the sport.

And Chitambo has called on aspiring candidates to file their nominations before the Friday deadline and that the ZRU will only release a complete list of successful candidates on Saturday, once all aspirants had filed in nomination papers.

“As a union we are ready for the AGM, everything is set and I would like to take this opportunity to announce candidature for the position of the general secretary,” he said.

At the AGM, the ZRU is expected to officially implement some of the changes that were approved during last year’s AGM held in Chingola that include dropping ‘Football’ from the Zambia Rugby Football Union to be called ZRU in line with the requirement of the International Rugby Board (IRB) members.

The meeting will also see the implementation of the amended ZRU constitution that will extend the tenure of office for officials from the current two years to four years.