Saturday, November 16, 2024

Zambia plans countrywide trophy tour as Renard banish Clifford Mulenga from the team

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The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) plan a nationwide trophy tour for the newly-crowned African champions, officials disclosed.

According to officials at the Football House, FAZ plan to hire an open top double-decker bus from South Africa for the road show.

“Christopher Katongo is still around in the country for another two weeks and he will be part of the planned tour,”the official said.

The official said the trophy tour itinerary has yet to be announced.

The team, who returned from Gabon to a heroes’welcome, have already been rewarded with cash gifts, while coach Herve Renard has been proposed a new three-year deal.

In the meantime, Swiss club BSC Young Boys have given Zambia striker Emmanuel Mayuka a week off.
Young Boys reported on their website that they were expecting Mayuka back from Zambia next week.

Mayuka was an integral part of the Africa Cup of Nations-winning team to in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

He scored three goals for Zambia that saw him also win the top scorer award.

Meanwhile, Coach Herve Renard has said that as long as he is at the helm of the Zambia national team, midfielder Clifford Mulenga will not be in his plans. “To get another chance… not with Herve Renard. Maybe with another coach since I will not be in Zambia forever,” Renard said of Mulenga’s possible return to the Chipolopolo squad.

He said this on Thursday night during SuperSport’s Soccer Africa programme. Mulenga was expelled from the national team on January 31 after he and three other players sneaked out of camp. Mulenga’s expulsion came two days after he featured for five minutes in Zambia’s 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea to top Group A at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The other players Hichani Himoonde, Jonas Sakuwaha and Collins Mbesuma apologised and Renard pardoned them. Renard said there is need for unity if desired results are to be achieved.

National team skipper Christopher Katongo said on the same programme that he felt sorry for Mulenga. Katongo said Renard informed him about Mulenga’s misconduct and he supported the coach’s decision to crack the whip as a way of instilling discipline in the team.

QFM

88 COMMENTS

  1. FAZ should concentrate on developing grassroots football and infrastructure…they haven’t nothing in years, also build a training facilities at home..are you going to train and prepare for AFCON 2013 in  RSA AGAIN!!

  2. Its a very painful lesson for Mulenga>>>>however, i wish he could be given a second chance only if he sincerely apologies 

  3. Very embarrassing that as heart of Tourism Country, We don’t have a Double Decker Open roof Bus. I will buy one so that we don’t hire from South Africa next time. With regards to the Tour, use of a bus may not be realistic, just let the cup only tour the provinces, with FAZ officials, NOT PLAYERS. They will be Tired. USE 4X4s.

  4. FAZ should concentrate on developing grassroots football and infrastructure…they haven’t DONE nothing in years, also build training facilities at home…about time Kalu did some proper work…are you going to train and prepare for AFCON 2013 in  RSA again!!

  5. The road show is a very good idea.I like it.I wonder what really transpired between clifford and Renard.I think there is more to it that what meets the eye.Time pipo learnt to forgive and forget.

  6. Typical of us Africans, play comes before business. Lets do a cost-benefit-analysis and analyse the concept of value for money, what tangible benefit would come out of such a venture? Marale-booster-chimwela-ukuumfwisha-bwino-zambia-chimwela.chipolopolo eye eee..and then what? This actions is equavalent to ‘squandering’ and not ‘investing’. You are clever than that, choose investing. If you have extra change from our victory, invest it football and there is no other way of doing this other than going in schools, start from upper basic schools to high schools by strengthening school teams.

    Why do we always want to worst resources instead of investing? Just know you dont have support

  7. MBESUMA WAS PART OF the naughty Boys that sneaked out, Bad manners mwamuletelela UMUNENU, Bena BASHALA. Forgive the Boy; He will not do it again.

  8. @SHEIKH

    They used a military jeep, they didn’t hire anything everything was done in haste, ZP wasn’t even prepared for the parade…in the west it takes the police about 7 days to mobilise manpower from other cities to prep for these events.
    I said this before the tournament and I would stop now, Kalu is a joke, lets judge administrations on what they have done on the ground with FAZ’s own resources….too much blind hero worshipping pa zed.   

    • Plizzz pipo it didn’t needed Kalu to put tight securit in place,that was gvt responsibility,just like here in the US when the giants won the super bowl the federal state of NYC provided security or rather organized the cops around the city for the parade.This victory is partially Great Kalu much input look at the team do you remember most of the boyz were infused in the squard by him huh????stop the hate just celebrate time to move on,SA 2013 is far.

  9. To hire a double-decker bus by one of the richest countries in mineral resources is a disgrace to say the least. UK does n’t have mineral resources like zambia but double decker buses are all over the shanty compounds of UK going around with hardly any people in them. Zambia needs to move and set it’s priorities right especially with a new govt in and the new crowned AFRICAN FOOTBALl CHAMP in place. We need to make the best of this situation and move forward economically.

  10. Yes by all means hire a bus like that, however sadly, we don’t have roads for a bus like that except in Lusaka.

    The risks to our team are obvious. Such a bus would easily get stuck in potholes, or would overturn, and injure or kill our heroes.

    Why not just use one of those great Army Tracks, converted for a road show? They are more sturdy and will be free, and assured of safety…

    So, don’t hire the bus. Use the Army resources.

  11. The greed needs to be put aside so that we can move forward as a country. The case where you have ministers having Hammer (vehicles) ,hammer mills stolen, money buried underground buts and boobs fronted for selfish interest should be put aside to move forward. It’s sickening what we have subjected ourselves to. Less talk and more work not for ourselves but future generations is what we now need! 

  12. i agree with #5 mo taim, there are some things that we are not being told here. its not a secret that renard has not been in good books with this chap for sometime now. anyway tough luck clifford, your boss has spoken and there is nothing you or me can do about it. especially that he has made us africa champs. he is on cloud nine. as for the bus hire, i smell corruption here. why cant we use open vans here? “faz at work again or is it kalu at corruption again.”

  13. I wish Mulenga could be given a second chance,we all make mistakes…Renard should be sensitive-because he’s dealing with someone’s career.We know that he’s the boss of the team,he makes  decisions but certain decisions are fatal on other people’s lifes.FAZ must talk to Renard and Mulenga,probably he did something wrong but he’s still a zambian.And you Mulenga “By any means necessary” apologise or go to FAZ so that this problem can be solved out.I appreciate the victory though!!!!!!

    • what discipline??? you’re foolish kavundula.We’re talking of solving a problem here not ma rubbish reply!!!!:o:o

    • Forgiven son you are the foolish one. Kavundula is right! Mulenga is arrogant, rude, stubborn and thinks he is indispensible. Our team won the AFCON without him so he might as well stay away from the national team forever. Yes Kavundula, discipline first!!!!!!!!

  14. #9 GUNDIX,
    I hope and pray that the powers that be take your views seriously. Do they really know how double-decker buses are designed? Certainly not for pot-holed Zambian roads. Whoever thought of the idea should let common sense prevail and not allow hyped excitement create unnecessary problems. Forget about this experiment, it’s unwise and risky. I also want to support #3 SHEIK, let a small delegation take the cup to the provincial HQ’s only.

  15. Zamtel offered to buy one bus, why not ask them to buy open top double-decker bus to be used, instead of hiring one from SA. Even our all weather friends, can easily donate one. this issue of hiring of bus from South Africa is just the way of Kalusha stealing the money, am very sure he will get something from this. This is  just  wasting  of money, as much as its a good idea of taking the trophy around.This money can be put to good use, all clinics in rural areas have no medicine  

  16. No need to hire the bus all the way from RSA. Does FAZ all of a sudden have a lot of money for this grandiose expenditure? Nangu ni excitement the plan doesn’t cut it! Why not put the money to some good use? I am sure the amount that would go to hiring this bus could be enough to improve turf on one football ground at each of our provincial centers! The world cup was brought to Zambia and viewed so why not follow same arrangement in provincial centers?

  17. Hiring a double decker from SA?Why not just purchase one and keep it for future use.Reminds me during the eclipse in 2001 when SA dominated the transport system in Zambia and made huge profits.
    This is the sort of issues HH needs to speak about to win people like me.

  18. why cant we use the same money hiring the bus from south to buy our own.i though in UBZ time we had double deckers.how much money was in the trophy any one help?

  19. If  I was FAZ president, I could make money out of this tropy by doing these:
    Put it at Mulungushi Conference, and Charge K500,000 for 1 week, K250,000 in second week, then 150,000 in the third week, 50,000 in fourth week, 20,000 after one month, K2,000 for the rest of the year. Just to go and touch the tropy. most people with money could love to touch it, but showground was over taken by people from shanty, while the state house was by invitation. The money raised, can be use to hire a chopper for provincial tours, even there, you charge K250,000 the first day, then 2,000 the last day. 
    On average if 4million Zambians pay K20,000 to see the tropy, FAZ will make K80,000,000,000 (K80bn). And Govt dont have to spend anything. already FAZ missed opportunity to sale T-Shirts

    • I think u make sense whoever is not interested does not go there. this is a one chance thing. How much do we usually spend on a typical weekend for drinks and other stuff. It is time for FAZ to think about income generating activities especially for this moment. Cheers PF cadre

  20. yaba!! here is another business minded guru. brilliant. faz is it to late to rewind? kanofwe pa supersport leaving your fans in quandary. kalusha! awe mwe.

  21. With all due respect to the coach Mulenga was expelled he learnt his lesson he should be forgiven..he shouldn’t make it personal unless they have personal issues which they should sort out between the two of them. They should be higher authorities to intervein in this matter. 

  22. Don’t let FAZ distract you with all this smokescreen…you should be asking them the important questions like where they are going to invest that $2 million cheque that CAF is paying them. As for Double decker buses you can get them in the UK 2nd hand used for £7000+ the only problem is from a business point of view is that it will be parked most of the time and only be hired for Presidential elections, other promotional events…we all know how long political parties take to clear their bills, moreover If I brought one in those ZRA dogs will be waiting for me at the border rubbing their hands with glee impatiently waiting to stamp a hefty import and customs duty on it.   

  23. There is no use for an open bus in Zambia; imagine getting a ride on it; October time; or June time; the weather pattern, for me, is the main cause for not having such buses. The other reason is that apart from Lusaka, the other Zambian cities are too tiny to offer lucrative tour guides. Imagine a tour guide for Kitwe; how long would it last? Contrast this with the tour guides of Livingstone; they have vans or modified 4x4s that have extra sitting with canopies; such is what is suitable for Livingstone.

    So those making fun of FAZ think twice.

  24. those of us in provincial centres saw the trophy on TV it was enough.put the cash u want to steal to good use.wat nonsense is this nkanshi pa zed.now this renard should just make up with the boy.infact he should just thank zambians 4handing him a powerful CV out of nothing.he is not a good coach.he is just like those ppo who were picked from farms to b made presidents.

  25. #24 Mature, believe me, if today am asked to pay K10m to go and take the photo with my Family while holding the trophy, I will happily pay, as long as I dont have to spend the whole day in the queue. I could have loved to go to showground, but i was scared (any small stampede, people could have died in thousands). At state house only few people went there. at end of the day, even if I was in Lusaka, I just watched on TV just like you in USA (thats if have way to watch ZNBC). so even before you take it to provincial centres, there are alot people in Lusaka willing to see it at all cost. 

  26. And Mulenga, you must be a very dumb young man. Your friends apologized and got back on board while you think your cheap arrogance can take you anywhere??
    THINK..

  27. I’ m just thinking to myself how much money I would need to start a tour service with a fleet of open top double-decker buses in Zambia, seeing that we don’t have any and they need to be hired from SA.

    Well, that aside, a fleet it’s safe to say that Clifford’s embarassing behavior is not to be tolerated at this level that the national team has reached. On the other hand, everyone deserves a second chance if they are truly sorry. Here in the Bundesliga, players are heavily fined and reintegrated into the team..

  28. #18 Distant Drums,
    yours is a direct response to the movers of the “motion” to take the trophy to Provincial HQs, with only a few people, for a few hours only.

    That should be enough.

  29. Good idea. In Zambia we culturally tend to share grief (e.g. funerals) more than we share triumphs. So let’s break this culture and share joy as well in order to change mindset and advance as a people. Benefits of this tour, in terms of the motivation it will generate amongst the upcoming footballers, are enormous and outweigh disadvantages in the long term for football in Zambia. Yes,let’s find suitable and safe transport.

  30. I don’t think clifford mulenga expected that zambia would win. However, I think Renard is behaving like a twat and not like a mature team manager.

  31. Let Mulenga be given a second chance if he APOLOGISES! He must have said something which we haven’t heard but I honestly think he should be given a second chance. He has learnt a big lesson: not being part of the AFRICON winning team and now I think he is showing remorse.

  32. And hiring an open top double-decker bus from another country is an embarrassment on the government. Our country is rich in natural resources but the problem is that we have greedy individuals who want to benefit and ignore what is good for the country.

  33. Even in happiness of an African cup win I stay sober. This actually works well for Clifford MULENGA I always believed if I was a great player I would rather not be called up for international duty always and remain with my club team making that Mula than disrupting play and fluidity of that beautiful game. Look at inferiority complex CAF, FIFA has them change the AFCON schedule without consulting the football fans in the continent and diaspora. KALU should not be heralded as a saint just because we won, he too has an inferior complexed mind; some are too young to remember how he buffoonly treated a beautiful AFRICAN QUEEN named MAUREEN NKANDU.

  34. Renard is honest with the way he says I shall not coach Zambia forever, eying Real Madrid are you now Herve? We are Champion, on to training it’s only next year you play again you know lol. Let’s now shift focus to the underhand policies politicians have been trying to sneak into our country behind closed doors and in the mist of our joy. Great appointment of first female IG. We shall pursue Henry Banda in 2017 if president SATA pushes this under the Rug. We are awake now.

  35. For me they should have all gone or all stayed and punished later after the games if the coach thought they were vital members of the team, which I think Himoonde was (not sure about Mbesuma and Sakuwaha), a rock in defence. I think together with Sunzu the were the best centre backs in the tournament. Clifford has been unfairly picked on here, a guinea pig. He did apologise also but no reason is given why his apology was not accepted. Tell us.

  36. Nine Chale and others,

    Let’s get the facts right and not rush to judge Clifford Mulenga too harshly. Clifford was never given a chance to apologize. The information I got from a very reliable source who was in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon is that after breaking the curfew with John Sakuwaha, Collins Mbesuma, Felix Katongo, and Hichani Himoonde, Herve Renard extracted apologies these players. For Clifford, Renard approached him and just told him to pack up as he was being kicked out of the team for curfew breaking.

  37. Those of you who have followed Zambian soccer will recall that Clifford and Renard have never been on good terms. Have people forgotten the time Clifford got so frustrated by Renard and vowed never to play for Zambia ever? It is only after Renard went to Angola and Bonnetti took over as coach that Clifford was recalled.

    When Bonnetti’s contract was terminated and Renard took over as coach, Clifford was not among the original team that Renard assembled. Clifford was only reluctantly included into the team by Renard after a public outcry. The curfew in Gabon was just the chance Renard was waiting for to get rid of Clifford.

  38. Renard has been given a three year contract to be paid for by tax payers like me not to frustrate young and upcoming talent like Clifford’s but to nurture it. Renard did a commendable job in bringing us the AFCON Cup, but that should not give him a blank cheque to impose what is tantamount to a life ban of Clifford from Zambian international soccer.

    Recently Wayne Rooney had a public falling out with Sir. Alex Ferguson, but this did not result in a life ban on Rooney from Manchester United. Renard himself ditched Zambia for Angola when we needed him most for a few pieces of silver, but we forgave him and welcomed him back with open arms as our national team coach. So why can’t he reciprocate our forgiveness by forgiving Clifford?

  39. You cannot compare Renhard with manchester coach each has a different approach.without discipline,Zambia was not going to be the champions.however, remember when it was necessary he kicked Tevez out even when Tevezi wanted to remain at Man-U. Mulenga in my judgement is proud looking at his statements in the press, he should have done better to be quiet than being pompers. I think he thought without him Zambia won’t go far.Had mulenga been disciplined, he wasn’t going to be playing where he is now, the boy used to be so good.

  40. Please make sure you have police escort. We don’t want to loose another team on those dangerous roads. Abena Mazhandu, are you telling me that you chaps can not afford to add an open top to your fleet? I will open a business with open top buses to take people to the national parks.

  41. Zambians please ask FAZ to issue a conclusive statement on cliford before we ask him to say it himself,Forgiveness is key to progress even when gud behavour is cardinal.

  42. @Higher Taller ….continue blindly kissing up to your hero & continue bankrolling him with taxpayer’s  blank cheques,our leagues are rotting and are a joke…. so does your great KALU still reside in RSA?? lol

  43. 1.Discipline is key in anybody’s success. What the coach did was the right thing to do, however Clifford is still Zambian and as long as he is, he deserves to be included in the national team. But before that, he needs to apologize for his wrong doing. 
    2. Renard is our hero for now, but he shouldn’t forget that he is just an employee and can be fired at anytime. Let him show a bit of maturity. I know he wants to behave like Mancini Man City coach towards Carlito Tevez.he hasn’t reached that level yet. 
    3. If Kalu still has ba**s, let him intervene in this matter like the FA intervened on John Terry.

  44. As long cliffod remains to be Zambian and his performance in SA league hits the climax he deserves all the birth rights to play for mother Zambia we will not start to hero worship you Mr white shirt don’t become too bigheaded,you just a foreign coach show some respect to our citizen,try say the same rubbish in developed world you will go down the drain,we all make mistakes and get carried away but that shouldn’t prevent him from presenting his country of birth by an outsider.

  45. I agree with Mwine Mushi. The celebration will be short lived if we don’t invest the remaining change from our victory purse. We Zambians are proud for nothing. We are consumers chabe.

  46. When you repeat Grade 7 several times until you pass you tend to think real life is full of repeats! Alas, the real world is REAL with very little chance for repeat in a competitive environment. Renard knows he will be able to pick up someone new with much better skills than a player who refuses to show remorse for obvious wrongdoing!

  47. I agree with Mwine Mushi. The celebration will be short lived if we don’t invest the remaining change from our victory purse. We Zambians are proud for nothing. We are just consumers.

  48. As a concerned Zambian, we do not need that tour. We have to set priorities if we are to develop. And if we want to develop, touring the country with the trophy will not do us good, but a waste of money. It is not necessary for now please. Drop the idea.

  49. Bwezani syndrome, tours,time wasting,complacency and foolish excitement, we bac at it again.It felt so good to win. The game was going back and forth and it was such a close match, but we never gave up and came out on top.But the airport and the showgrounds welcomes were enough.Why should we go on with celebration as if it was a fluke to win the cup.Come on we still have more fights coming up, brace yaselves mutha crackers

  50. ON Clifford Mulenga, Renard should know that “No matter how far off the pedistol the character falls- we all deserve a 2nd chance. Forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts the Lord has given us. With it comes understanding.” The heart of a coach is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness, if he cant do that then he is not fit to coach zambia.

  51. Renard, you are busking in glory, fine you have made great achievement. But for sure you cannot condemn Clifforf Mulenga forever. You are utterly wrong Renard. You punished that young man by excluding him from the tournament, but you can’t go on denying him any future chance! He is a young man and can easily make mistakes, many of them for that matter. But you cannot condemn him forever. Mind you he was not the only one who committed that mistake, others did too. Excepted the rest apologized fast than Clifford did. If you so insist he must not play for the national team is it your personal team? What are the feelings of Clifford, relatives and friends? If they also react against you what happiness are you going to enjoy in future? Get out of your box and have a big picture.

    • my bro u are talking we should terminate renard’s contract 4this nonsense.infact we need a very good coach now not this miserable chancer.anibabisa mutima

  52. Football is Cliford Mulenga’s career, and one of the means of beneficial employement. So it’ll be unfair to perpetually deprive him of his means of income. If he has committed an unforgiveable offence, then let there be held a hearing. Natural justice demands that an accused be formaly charged, and his case must be heard forthwith. Let FAZ take charge of this case .If they fail, then CAF or even FIFA. I hope FAZ will respond to this.

  53. Gumu Gumu,

    Clifford actually passionately apologized to the whole nation as soon as he arrived at his base in South Africa. This was even reported in the local media. This is what bothers me about Renard’s unforgiving attitude. Does he want Clifford to jump from a 20 storey building before he can accept his apology?

  54. first of all,let me begin by congratulating the boys for bringing the cup home.well done boys ad we so proud of u.to me ,it looks like clifford and renard hv nt bn in gud books for a long time so tht ws jst a loop hole of chasing th young boy.renard shud bare in mind tht he is nt zambian bt an employee who has bn employed bt us zambian ad if th pipo of zambai ar nt happy,he cn b kicked out period.let him nt let th boy loose his career becoz of of his altitude.vegence is for God ad he shud learn to forgive,am sure he hs has bn forgiven by alot of pipo several times so why cnt he do th same as well.an nt happy wth th way he is takin this issue.clifford too ws wrong jst lke th atha boys bt if his frends went ad said sori,wht ws so special wth him to humble himself ad say sori.humbleness pays.

  55. Bottom line. Clifford swallow pride and apologise and see what happens next and prove Herve to be in the wrong. I doubt tho the apology would be thrown out just like that. If so…

    As for the tour we are always full of poor planing and lack of foresight. Hope the rain season is being taken into account for if it starts pouring with an open fintu fimofimo….

    I further think there is no real need for players to be there…agreable with #3

  56. How much is hiring and how much does one cost? is the question if hiring can amount to the cost of buying why not buying??? Why can’t FAZ buy one from the 10billion???? should we depend on hiring??

  57. Heya i’m for the primary time here. I found this board and I in finding It truly helpful & it helped me out a lot. I’m hoping to provide one thing again and aid others such as you helped me.

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