By Kennedy Gondwe BBC Sport, Lusaka

Bwalya is a Zambian legend

Kalusha Bwalya has blamed the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) for the country's failure to qualify for the Nations Cup finals.

The former African Footballer of the Year told BBC Sport that poor administration and inadequate preparation have contributed to the declining fortunes of the national team.

He said: "The problem in Zambia is that we have people who pretend to know football when they actually don't understand the game.

"I feel sad for the players who sacrificed their time and energies to ensure that Zambia qualified."

A former player with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, Bwalya was appointed technical adviser for Zambia's home qualifier against Sudan.

I feel sad for the players Kalusha Bwalya

But he was unable to reach an agreement with FAZ to assist the team in the decisive match in Benin.

Bwalya also hit out at the continued exclusion of experienced players like Moses Sichone and Andrew Sinkala from the national team.

"Members of the Football Association must now look at themselves and see what they have done [wrong]," he said.