I found something interesting in IVerify - Reports that Zambia is going to AFCON not true. FIFA has not issued a statement on the issue, Zimbabwe in camp

Reports that Zambia is going to AFCON not true. FIFA has not issued a statement on the issue, Zimbabwe in camp

False

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is yet to give a statement on the ban and the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) will issue an official statement when the issue is settled.

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Verified Jan, 06 2022

Claim

On 5th January 2022, Splendid Life TV Facebook page published a story claiming that the Zambia National Team are going to the Africa Cup of Nations because Zimbabwe has been banned. In 2021, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) said that a ban may be imposed on Zimbabwe unless the elected FA regained control of the sport from the government-appointed organization by 3rd January 2022.

Rating Justification

The fact checking process has determined as false the claim that Zambia is going to the AFCON following Zimbabwe’s ban from the tournament. The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has not issued a statement on the matter, and there has been no official statement from FIFA. FAZ Communications Manager, Mr Sydney Mungala told the iVerify fact checking team that the story concerning the matter should be treated as a rumor until FAZ issues an official statement when the matter is resolved. The Zimbabwe National Soccer team is already in Cameroon’s Bafoussam City where they are expected to play Senegal on 10th January 2022. Furthermore, Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), which is the governing body of African Football, has not made any changes on their official website concerning the AFCON match fixtures as Zimbabwe is still set to play Senegal on 10th January 2022 and according to Mr Mungala, the Zambia National Soccer team is not in camp to prepare for the AFCON as none of the national team players has been called for the international duty, the players are still with their respective Football clubs.

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