Windhoek – Namibian international midfielder Petrus Shitembi is set to join Zambian Premier League (ZPL) club Lusaka Dynamos on a short-term contract, New Era Sport has established.
Although details around his move remain sketchy at this stage, reliable sources confirmed to this publication that the 26-year old Brave Warriors industrious attacking midfielder has in fact already left for Lusaka to join his new teammates and the only thing remaining is the issuance of the International Transfer Certificate (ITC) by the Namibia Football Association (NFA) to Dynamos.
With his move to Dynamos, Shitembi will be reunited with compatriots, Tiberius Lombard and fellow midfielder Awillo Stephanus, who both ply their trade for the Zambian giants in that country’s premiership.
New Era Sport also established that Shitembi was offered a short-term contract due to the Zambian football season. Unlike in the past, the Zambian league used to start in February and end in November, but with the new CAF calendar, the league now starts in August and ends in May.
Given that the Zambian league will end in May, Shitembi was offered a short contract that will run until end of the season, and its renewal or extension will be determined by Namibia’s qualification to the African Cup of Nations (Afcon).
Due to the effect of the new CAF calendar, which also saw the Afcon being switched from January/February to June/July, the Zambian league divided their teams into two with 10 teams playing in a North league and 10 other clubs in the South League.
Lusaka-based clubs like Sensational Zanaco, Lusaka dynamos, Red Arrows Nkwazi and others will be paired alongside Southern Province teams, while those teams in the Copperbelt Province like Zesco United, Power Dynamos and Nkana will play in the North League.
The top two teams from each zone will play continental football in the 2019/2020 season. The teams with the most points will play the CAF Champions League then the other two will play the CAF Confederations Cup. The League will however revert to the normal way in 2020 as the 2019 model is a transitional league, according to Zambian media.
Shitembi, who boasts a thick CV that features the likes of Ghanaian giants, Ashanti Gold FC and South African top clubs such as Amazulu FC, AmaTuks FC (University Of Pretoria) and Stellenbosch FC, is set to join Dynamos from local club Tura Magic.