Football
Nick Said, Special to ESPN 6y

Even Nations Cup qualification may not keep Sven Vandenbroeck in Zambia

The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) have set new coach Sven Vandenbroeck a mandate of reaching the 2019 African Nations Cup finals, but have acknowledged that even that may not be enough to keep him in the job.

FAZ made the statement following the official unveiling of the 38-year-old Belgian coach in Lusaka on Tuesday, during which FAZ President Andrew Kamanga made it clear that failure to reach the finals in Cameroon next year was not acceptable.

There was even the hint that reaching the tournament may not be enough to see Vandenbroeck stay on.

"I think the assignment is very clear, Sven's first task is to qualify for the 2019 African Cup of Nations," Kamanga told reporters as per FAZ's official Facebook handle. "That is the prime objective, [but] we are also mindful of the other milestones.

"The first target is for him to deal with the five games, that is all. [If] we achieve that we come back and re-look at the tournament itself.

"Remember we are talking about just qualifying to the tournament, once we qualify, we can talk about the tournament. The assignment is short term, to qualify us to the Africa Cup."

Vandenbroeck was assistant coach to compatriot Hugo Broos when Cameroon lifted the Nations Cup title in Gabon in 2017.

He has also coached in Greece with Niki Volos and was assistant coach at Belgian side OH Leuven.

The 38-year-old takes over from Wedson Nyirenda, who has joined South African Premier Soccer League side Baroka FC.

Zambia lost their opening match of the Nations Cup qualifiers at home to Mozambique in a surprise defeat.

They next play away in Namibia in September, followed by a double-header against Guinea-Bissau.

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