I impressed CAF, says Zakazaka
Confederation of African Football (CAF) assigned Football Association of Malawi (FAM) competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka to coordinate the organisation of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final match after impressing in earlier tasks.
Zakazaka was the assistant general coordinator in the final between hosts Ivory Coast and Nigeria in Abidjan on Sunday which the Elephants won 2-1.
In an interview yesterday, he said his role was initially supposed to end after the semi-finals.
Said Zakazaka: “Initially, I was scheduled to return home on February 9 after coordinating the semi-final between Nigeria and South Africa in Bouake.
“But I was informed by the authorities that I did well and I was assigned to coordinate the final.
“I was at a loss for words because I didn’t expect it, but I guess it was a reward for my hard work.”
He said he has learnt a lot during his month-long stint at Africa’s biggest football showpiece.
Said Zakazaka: “It was a wonderful experience and I have learnt a lot. I will impart the knowledge gained to fellow local coordinators.
“It was an honour for me to be among the 13 that were selected for the task and I am thankful to Football Association of Malawi for allowing me to come here as well as CAF for choosing me.
“It doesn’t get better than being offered such an opportunity at the highest level. I have been to regional and continental events, but this was something else.
I would also like to thank my family and lots of Malawians who gave me all the support.
“The experience has given me the hunger to work even harder.”
FAM general secretary Alfred Gunda said Zakazaka’s recognition by CAF means that “we have developed quality capacity for the game and reached a level where our personnel is recognised at continental level and assigned to deliver high level events with Afcon final being the pinnacle of continental football”.
