By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE –

ZAMBIA will be among the 52 countries that will today be anxiously waiting to know their opponents for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers when draws are conducted in Egypt today.
The participating countries will be divided in 13 groups of four teams each ahead of the qualifiers that kick off in June with the host expected to be announced at the CAF headquarters in Cairo this afternoon.
For the first time in the qualifiers, the host country will participate in the qualifying stages; though the matches concerned will not be computed for points as they shall count as friendlies and the top teams in each will qualify at the 31st edition of the continental soccer showpiece.
The first team from each group shall qualify for the final stage, as well as the best two runners-up, exclusive of the group of the host country, which only one team will qualify.
Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) communications manager Nkweto Tembwe said yesterday that the Chipolopolo were ready to face any opponent in the qualifiers.
“We are anxiously waiting for our opponents. We will wait and see the teams in our group and prepare adequately for the game. Football has changed and every team is a strong contender, so we will not underrate any team that will be drawn with us,” Tembwe said.
Meanwhile, FAZ president Kalusha Bwalya has been given another mandate as CAF executive committee for the southern region. The region caters for   Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
During the election of the members of the CAF Executive Committee for the 2015 to 2019 period held in Cairo yesterday, Kalusha was among five incumbent members that went through unopposed for another four-year term.