The Zambia U-17 national teams set to take part in the Algeria TotalEnergiesU17 tournament later this month will be involved in friendly matches in Northern Africa. Football Association of Zambia President Andrew Kamanga wrote in his weekly collum today that the junior chipolopolo will set camp in the north before the commencement of the tournament where the association will organize several friendlies to get the team geared up for the tournament. Zambia will be returning to the tournament after seven years of absence having last appeared in 2015 under Chris Kaunda led by now Leicester City striker Patson Daka. Ian Bakala's under-17 team played a friendly match against the all-stars team last in a match that ended 1 all draw and it was used to rope in some players that might have been left during the selection process from the all-stars side. However, Kamanga pointed out that the association is aware of complaints from some sets of fans and stakeholders every time selections for the junior teams are made. He adds that some complaints are borne out of ignorance as few people care to understand that junior teams tournaments are age-restricted and not open to anyone playing in the lower provincial leagues. He implored some stakeholders that cry foul to familiarize themselves with some tournament requirements for different age groups. “We are alive to the routine outcry every time selections for junior teams are selected but also take cognizance of the fact that some complaints are borne out of ignorance. Few people care to understand that junior team tournaments are age-restricted and are not open-ended to anyone playing in the lower leagues in the provinces. There are requisite procedures like Magnetic Imaging Resonance (MRI) and other procedures that are mandatory for participating teams. We implore some of the stakeholders that cry foul to familiarize themselves with some of the tournament requirements for various age group tournaments.” The Under-17 AFCON will be held from April 29-May 19 in Algeria with Zambia in Group B alongside Nigeria, Morocco, and South Africa.