YOUTH Sport and Child Development Minister Gladys Nyirongo has warned the Zambia under-23 national soccer team to prepare for a hostile reception when they travel to Ghana for the decisive March 27, Athens 2004 Olympics qualifier.
Nyirongo told the players to keep in mind what happened to their seniors when they travelled to another West African country Benin where they were treated with hostility and beaten 3-0 to end Zambia's hopes of qualifying to the 2004 African finals held in Tunisia last month.
"The game against Ghana must be taken seriously. Of course you must expect a lot of hostility, like what happened in Benin to the seniors. There will be a lot of harassment, but the boys are supposed to be determined," the minister said.
Nyirongo said after beating Algeria 4-2 in Kitwe last weekend to join Ghana at the summit of Group D of the qualifying series for the 2004 Athens Olympics soccer championship, the door to Greece was now open.
Zambia and Ghana lead the group with 10 points apiece. She said the advantage was with Zambia going into the final qualifying match but the players and the coaching staff would have to work hard to turn the Athens dream into a reality.
She said Government was happy that the team was on the verge of repeating the feat last attained in 1988 when Zambia edged Ghana out of a place at the Seoul Olympics on a 2-1 two-leg aggregate, with current national team boss, Kalusha Bwalya contributing a brilliant goal in the 2-0 win at Independence stadium in Lusaka.
"Already (Ghanaian soccer legend Abedi) Pele is telling us that the game will be tough. The advantage is that we have Kalusha who will go and tell his friend that even if the game is tough we are ready," Nyirongo said.
Meanwhile, under-23 soccer coach, Peter Kaumba has said he will use all the ammunition at his disposal to ensure Zambia qualified to the 2004 August Athens Olympic Games for the first time in 16 years.
Kaumba said the technical team would soon meet to plot how Zambia could overcome Ghana in the last qualifying match next week.
While conceding that the match in Ghana would be tough, Kaumba said Zambia would employ all tactics to reach the Olympics.
The Kitwe United coach said with the two teams also tied in the goal difference category, Zambia would needed an outright victory from the West African state to secure the ticket to Greece.
Kalusha, who starred in Zambia's impressive run at the Seoul games, notching a hat-trick in the 4-0 rout of Italy, said the team would need to play a clever game to overcome Ghana in their own backyard.
