. Janza

By SANDRA MWILA –
HONOUR Janza says he has not shifted from his philosophy of building a youthful Chipolopolo for future competitions.
Janza said his decision to call players like Felix Katongo was to enable the upcoming players blend with the old but experienced players in readiness of the Gabon 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers in June.
He said at a media briefing at Football House in Lusaka that he is assessing every player who has shown potential, either young or old, with a view of coming up with a strong team for the qualifiers.
“I will not be there tomorrow, but I have to prepare a strong team for future tournaments so that the person who takes over as Chipolopolo coach finds the team ready,” he said.
Janza also hit out at critics that he was panicking by calling foreign based players for both the Malawi friendly and COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup. He said the move is aimed at assessing the players well before the AFCON and World Cup qualifiers get underway.
“Our philosophy is not about age but it’s about any player that has energy and can endure the challenge of playing at the national team. Look at Roger Miller, he played at the World Cup at the age of 42,” he said.
He said most of the Under-23 soccer team players would have been fused into the team if they did not have engagements.
“History always teaches us something, the Under-23 soccer team failed to qualify for the All Africa Games finals probably because the bulk of players were at the national team preparing for the Rwanda friendly. We shall not interfere with their preparations this time around but will allow them to focus on qualifying for the Rio Olympics,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chipolopolo vice captain Nathan Sinkala and Orlando Pirates players Musonda Mwape have beefed up the team ahead of the Malawi friendly while captain Rainford Kalaba, Given Singuluma and Kabaso Chongo as well as Aaron Katebe were expected in today.
Team manager Lusekelo Kamwambi said Sinkala and Musonda were part of the afternoon training session at Nkoloma Stadium and that a full team was expected in by today.
Kamwambi thanked the respective teams for their cooperation in releasing players despite the friendly not falling on a FIFA date.
Malawi arrive today by road for the international friendly to be played on Sunday at Nkoloma Stadium. FAZ has pegged the gate charges at K200 for VIP and K20 for the open wings and tickets will go on sale tomorrow at Football House.