Football Association of Zambia has castigated the decision take by the Confederation of African Football to disqualify the national team captain Barbra Banda from taking part in the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations
The 22-year-old forward, who turns out for Chinese club Shanghai Shengli, was ruled out of the tournament that is currently taking place in Morocco due for medical reasons, on the eve of the tournament.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Zambian FA president Andrew Kamnaga criticized the decision taken by CAF saying it was taken aback by the position of the Confederation of African Football that seemed to disown its own processes before a watching world media.
“It was a grossly unfair statement from CAF because all the federations participating in this tournament have been subjected to the competition rules which have been set by CAF. In this respect we were compelled to deal with medical requirements as part of eligibility. For CAF to turn around and say they were not aware is grossly unfortunate,” says FAZ president Andrew Kamanga.
CAF had indicated that Banda failed to meet the criteria required by global governing body Fifa, whose gender rules the African football governing body defers to regarding WAFCON.
“Whatever we do is part and parcel of what CAF requires. We did not exclude any player but in this case followed CAF regulations as prescribed by CAF,” added Kamamga.
“CAF needs to apply the same standard used across various leagues and FIFA competitions for consistency since the excluded players remain eligible to play in their leagues.
“Regrettably, the players being denied an opportunity to showcase their skills on African soil have been free to play at FIFA and International Olympic Committee organized competitions that deploys a less stringent standard.”
Zambia opened their Group C campaign with a 0-0 draw against three-time runners-up Cameroon on Sunday.
The Copper Queens will face Tunisia on Wednesday prior to finishing the group with a clash against debutants Togo at the weekend.
