Elias Mpondela

BELIEVE it or not, re-elected Zambia Athletics (ZA) president Elias Mpondela says this is his final term.

Mpondela was re-elected on Saturday after beating his longtime rival Samuel Matete who was put on the ballot out of Mpondela’s discretion to allow him at the elective general meeting held in Lusaka.

Mpondela, who has been at the helm of ZA since 1998, has extended his stay at the helm of the association for the next four years to make it 26 years in total.

Addressing the delegates, Mpondela said he was transiting.

“Well, I am running this term to handover. This period (four years) is my handover period. I want to expose my people to all the things that we do, to grow and strengthen all the area boards, to create business opportunities for provincial area boards,” the joyful Mpondela said. “I am transiting. It will never be again. And you never know, even along the way things get brighter, where I am going, I could still change my mind. But I am not changing my mind to stay, no. This is my handover period – I don’t want anymore.”

Mpondela disclosed that he had someone he was grooming to take over from him.

“Yes, I will [handover], I have got a team. Some of the people like my general secretary Davis Mungambata, he is ready to takeover. I mean, he’s always been ready, the vice-president that has been voted out was, too, ready. So for me this is also a handover period. This is also a grooming period, this is a consolidated period for the structures of ZA,” Mpondela said. “To National Sports Council of Zambia, please we are tired of going to court. Please call these people (the aggrieved party), ask them, what can’t they do? Like the man they really wanted to win Mr [Samuel] Matete, he is clever and humble in his own way. What did he do, he went back and created his club and it has been ratified here, so why can’t they do the same so that they become members.”

Mpondela promised to include Matete in the technical team.

And Matete said he would have to look at the offers that would come his way and called for a need to support Mpondela.

“First of all, I am happy that I was given an opportunity to participate. I think there are no hard feelings and, in every race, there are losers and winners. We just have to try and rally behind Mr Mpondela who has won and we can’t run away from the fact that he polled more votes than I did,” said Matete. “And this is not the end of the race. I have an academy and who knows, maybe there are some other challenges that are coming. I am coaching high athletes and any help that will come my way to enhance the performance of the athletes I just have to look at it and see how good it is, that offer. And when it is good, I will take it up and move from there. The most important thing is to move on the common ground.”

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