BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)–Football Association of Malawi (Fam) Executive Committee has expressed worries over the delay by government to hire expatriate coach.
Fam has said this ahead of its meeting which will decide whether or not to keep waiting for the government’s decision on hiring Malawi National Football Team’s expatriate coach.
Speaking with Daily Times, Fam President, Walter Nyamilandu, on Monday admitted that, with the African Nations Championship qualifiers getting underway in April, there was every reason for the football fraternity to panic over the absence of the coach.
“We are meeting over the weekend and one of the items on agenda is to look at the position of the national coach. The delays are not doing us any favour. We need to make a decision on whether we should continue waiting or discuss an alternative,” Nyamilandu explained as quoted by the Daily Times.
The Fam boss said it was only his board that could, if need be, decide on the plan B for the Flames’ next mentor to replace Ernest Mtawali, whose contract was not extended beyond July 31 2016.
The team also has tough 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying assignments for Group B against Cameroon, Morocco, Mauritius/ Comoros islands. The qualifiers will start in June.
Fam proposed to the Ministry of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development the hiring of an expatriate coach with the line Minister, Henry Mussa, referring the proposal to President Peter Mutharika for his final approval.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Symon Mbvundula, yesterday said he would follow up with his superiors on the coach’s issue.
Weekend Nation over the weekend quoted Fam General Secretary, Alfred Gunda, indicating that most expatriate coaches were demanding perks in the region of K9 million. Fam has proposed a 50-50 sharing system with the government for the coach’s salary.
A local Flames’ coach earns around K1.5 million. Locals Kinnah Phiri and the late Henry Moyo are considered as the most successful having steered the team to 1984 and 2010 Afcon finals in Cote d’Ivoire and Angola, respectively.
Recently, the Tanzania’s Mbeya City FC Kinnah dismissed Nyamilandu’s assertions that Fam has with little success exhausted all domestic coaches. Fam wants a coach capable of also developing the country’s distinct playing philosophy.
Eddingtone Ng’onano, Gilbert Chirwa, Lawrence Waya and Yasin Osman are among the locals said to be angling for the Flames’ job with the expatriates in the picture being Honor Janza of Zambia, Bruce Globbelaar (Liverpool goalkeeping great) and Bobby Williamson (ex- Uganda’s Cecafa Cup record-winning Scottish coach).
