/ 5 June 1997

Zambian team play hide and seek

THURSDAY, 11.00AM:

THE Zambian soccer side didn’t arrive on their scheduled flight into South Africa on Wednesday night — instead the plane from Zambia was full of cabinet ministers, members of parliament and soccer fans.

Officials from the South African Football Association (Safa) were unimpressed, as they had turned out at Johannesburg International Airport to welcome the visiting team.

The non-arrival might be a ploy to disconcert South Africa, who are due to play Zambia in a World Cup qualifier match at FNB Stadium in Soweto on Saturday.

Safa’s chief of protocol, Bucks Molatedi, said: “Apparently the plane from Lusaka was full and the squad will now only arrive on Friday. Further than that I cannot say as I was informed by my office that the entire team would be arriving this afternoon.”

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