By 
Zambia national team coach Avram Grant says it will not be easy to replace former Chipolopolo captain Enock Mwepu who was forced to hang his boots late last year.
Mwepu was forced to hang his boots after he was diagnosed with a hereditary heart condition.
The Brighton and Hove Albion player has however been given the role to drill the Under-9 at Brighton’s academy.
Giving a comment on this development, Grant said Mwepu was important not just for the national team but for the Premier League as well.
Grant, who last month was offered a two-year performance-based contract by FAZ said it was one of his challenges as the new gaffer of the national team to find a replacement for Mwepu.
Grant was speaking when he featured on One on One sports programme hosted by ZNBC’s Matimba Nkonje on Tuesday this week.
“Mwepu played fantastic football in the premier league, he was a good captain and he played well it will not be easy to replace him but it is a fact that he cannot play unfortunately.
“I hope the doctors can find that he can play. It is unfortunate that he is not playing but this is one of the challenges for the coach that when a big player is not playing to find a replacement,” Grant said.
Read more: Zambia FA hopeful Grant would qualify Chipolopolo for 2023 AFCON
Asked who he might name as the new Chipolopolo captain, the former Chelsea and Ghana national team coach said; “I am still monitoring the team. I saw games here and I saw a lot of videos and this month I will be here to see more games then I will go to see other players that play abroad.
“For a moment I haven’t made any decisions yet I want to study the players’ character then I can make decisions.”
Grant said it was challenging that Zambia has few players playing in big leagues in Europe.
“One of the challenges for Zambia is we have 15 players doing well abroad we need to get to 40 or 50 because teams that are doing well have 50 or 60 players abroad. I’m not talking about Ghana, they have a thousand players abroad so we will need 50 or 60 players so that we are making progress but we are getting there with the Under-17 and under-20,” he said.
He said Zambia had enough talent which needed to be nurtured correctly for the national team to reach higher heights and qualify for the World Cup for the first time ever.
“Zambia has never been to the World Cup and during the time of the negotiations we were in Qatar so the challenge is big here in Zambia the aim is to put Zambia in a better position than where it is now,” Grant said.
Asked if the two years given to him were enough for him to take Zambian football forward, the Israelite said; “We want to develop the talent, make a good organisation and Zambia will be good.
“We start with two years then we will see if I will be happy. I never force myself, I do not like to be forced and I think two years is good and we will see if we are happy with each other, we will continue,” he said.
Comments