Composed by Lucky Mwewa Chama
Wieslaw Grabowski is a former Zambia National team coach who was appointed in July, 1983 by the Football Association of Zambia.
Wieslaw Grabowski is a former Zambia National team coach who was appointed in July, 1983 by the Football Association of Zambia.
As a player Grabowski played for
Gornik Zobrze, and appeared for Poland in six matches and was in the team that
beat England 2-0 in the 1974 World Cup qualifying round.
He was at 36 years when he was
appointed to take charge of the Zambia National Team.
According to a newspaper article which
was published on 27th January, 1984, in the Times of Zambia under
the Sport On Column it was revealed that Grabowski’s salary was not remitted by
FAZ for a period of six months.
A month after the publication of
the article, Grabowski received a letter terminating his employment contract
with FAZ. No reasons were given in the letter. As a young coach he was
shattered and the Zambian football community sympathized with him.
On February 21, FAZ chairman Tom
Mtine announced his removal and hoped that Zambian coaches would be interested
to take up the job for the next five years.
Grabowski served for eight months
and managed to win eight matches out of ten games he was in charge of the team.
He had a sour relationship with FAZ
which was characterized with strange and mentally agonizing experiences. His salary
was never paid in full, forcing him to live on advances and changed his accommodation
four times.
Grabowski was a frank talker and
that did not go down well with FAZ bosses who always demanded subservience from
the employees. He would openly express his honest opinion with the media or
anybody that came in contact with him.
Grabowski acknowledged that his
openness was the reason for his dismissal. He told the Times of Zambia in an
interview: “Since I attacked FAZ through the Times of Zambia for not sending
the team to the CECAFA tournament last year, communication between them and me
has broken down.
I am crying. When I came to
Zambia I did so with my full heart. I came not to work on a team, but to build
one. Now they have destroyed everything,” he said.
He said there was interference in
his training program by FAZ and also refusal to allow the players more time in
camp during preparations for important matches.
Despite getting a lower pay
compared to some expatriate coaches working on the Copperbelt with mine clubs,
the Polish gaffer stayed on.
NEXT WE WILL TALK ABOUT HOW FANS
ORGANIZED THEMSELVES TO CONTRIBUTE MONEY TO SETTLE THE ALLOWANCES FOR COACH
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