Revealed: How much ex-Zambia coach Avram Grant pocketed

Details have emerged of how much former Chelsea manager Avram Grant pocketed when he left his role as Zambia coach in October.

The Israeli’s two-year tenure ended after an unsuccessful 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign for the Copper Bullets.

His reign was a mixed bag with critics pointing to the Chipolopolo’s struggles at the last Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Ivory Coast where the 2012 champions failed to get past the group-stage. This was compounded by Zambia’s not-so inspiring performance in the subsequent World Cup qualifiers.

However, some in Zambia feel the former Premier League manager did his best during the two years in Lusaka.

They cite that the former Portsmouth manager earned the former AFCON champions qualification to the continental competition for the first time for close to a decade then into back-to-back editions for the forthcoming finals in Morocco later in December.

With the leadership changes at the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) following the election of Keith Mweemba who defeated Andrew Kamanga, it was inevitable that Grant too would leave.

That proved to be the case as FAZ announced that it had agreed to part ways with the former coach of Ghana amicably. Previous assistant coach Moses Sichone is now in charge of the team.

The truth about money paid to Avram Grant

Of late, the Zambian media circles have been suggesting that FAZ paid Grant US$277,222.99 to end his contract.

This prompted FAZ General Secretary Machacha Shepande to issue a statement on Thursday clarifying that the separation did not involve any severance payment.

He says the cited figure was part of an outstanding amount owed to the Israeli when both parties agreed to separate.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the figures cited in the financial report during yesterday’s reconvened AGM refer solely to monies owed to the coach, not a separation package. In fact, most of the outstanding amount accumulated long before the Keith Mweemba administration took over,” said Shepande.

He says the current administration simply cleared the backlog it found.

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