ZESCO United Football Club Team Ya Ziko
Football is undoubtedly the most powerful and most popular sport in the world. This is evident by the games ability to link communities, appeal to emotions, and break cultural barriers.
Today football has become one of the most sought-after brands and a lucrative industry with great economic influence in infrastructure development, sponsorships, TV rights and transfer of players.
Such is the pull effect of the game that public institutions, multinational companies, and business tycoons alike see the sport as a canal to get to the hearts and minds of the people.
However, the relentless flow of revenue into the game through various streams has also heightened demand for results and calls for good corporate governance from various stakeholders of the game.
In order to ensure that the beautiful game is administered professionally, FIFA introduced club licensing all over the world. This system compels clubs to adhere to four sets of criterions which include sporting, infrastructure, legal and finance, administration and personnel in order to participate in any FIFA acclaimed competitions.
Zambia’s football giants, ZESCO United become the first Zambian Super League team to attain club licensing requirements. Sponsored by the state-owned electricity company ZESCO Limited, United has in the last two decades been the most successful team in the local league and the country’s perennial representative in CAF competitions.
With nine domestic league titles to their name, United have become a symbol and model of how a profession club should operate on and off the pitch.
This success, however hasn’t manifested by accident. The club has structures which includes an active secretariat with a ray of qualified professionals who are charged with the responsibility of managing day-to-day operations of the institution.
Furthermore, United has heavily invested in developmental teams that continue to play a significant role in ensuring that there is a consistent flow of talent attuned to the philosophy and principles of the club.
Buoyed by an increasing appetite for success in the modern game and to solidify its position among the best managed teams in Africa, United management introduced the position of Technical Director in its structure as part of the FIFA Club licensing requirement under administration and Personnel.
On December 8, 2022, ZESCO United management announced the appointment of club Technical Director, Honor Janza. Janza’s credentials and role in the development of African football speaks volumes, making him arguably the best candidate for the job.
An elite CAF coaching instructor, former Football Association of Zambia Technical Director, and Zambia National Team Head coach, Janza is expected to play a significant role in creating a blue print that will bring success at United.
“It is great honor to be given this opportunity to serve ZESCO United in this capacity. This is an important arm in the management of football as a core business. This position is not new in the game. It has worked very well and produced great results in Europe.
“This office gives us an opportunity to oversee the operations of our teams at different levels and provide technical support to satisfy the short, medium- and long-term needs. We will also be in a strategic position to ensure that the philosophy of the club is understood from the senior level to the developmental teams,” Janza said.
Six months into his new role, Janza has already started to walk the talk by implementing and sharing his blue print across a ray of structures at United.
The office of the Technical Directorate recently organized a one-day workshop targeting United Technical staff from the Senior, Youth and Women’s Teams.
“We have done a good assessment of what is currently obtaining at the club. It has opened my eyes especially in key areas where we feel need attention. This workshop is primarily about filling up these gaps.
We are sharing information to all the technical staff about our philosophy as a club as presented by the United’s head coach. It also covers the coaching methodology in senior, youth and women teams. The main objective is to ensure that the club builds one philosophy that will help in achieving its targets.”
And ZESCO Ndola Girls first assistant coach, Nicholas Zulu says the workshop provided club officials with an opportunity to learn modern methods of coaching.
“There were a lot of lessons to draw from what the Technical Director shared with us. A lot of things have changed in football especially coaching methodologies. Information was shared with us on how to prepare winning teams, how to plan for your opponent’s more importantly understanding the philosophy and culture of the club you are working for. It was an eye opener for everyone,” Zulu said.
Building successful and high performing teams doesn’t happen in a blink of an eye. The Introduction of the office of the technical director gives United’s administration a big strategic component that is expected to facilitate the smooth flow of budding talent from the youth system to the summit of the game.
Author: Desmond Katongo
