Blantyre United rebuff Wanderers on Sulumba
Blantyre United have said Mighty Be Forward Wanderers have no business discussing striker Muhamad Sulumba’s trip to South Africa where he underwent successful trials at Premier Soccer League (PSL) outfit Jomo Cosmos..
Sulumba and Blue Eagles midfielder Micium Mhone have since signed three and two-year contracts respectively.
United technical director Lawson Nakoma was reacting to the Nomads’ threat that they will seek redress at the highest level should the player opt to join Cosmos as he is loaned to them until the end of the season.
Wanderers general secretary Mike Butao yesterday said: “We have no information on Sulumba. We expected him to be available for our game against Max Bullets tomorrow [ for the Carlsberg Cup match today], but he did not report for training on Monday.
“We hope he can avail himself today [yesterday] or, at least be available this week, otherwise we will seek guidance from relevant authorities on his abscondment. We are going to go to the highest level to seek redress. Remember, we paid for his loan transfer and we feel we are now being hard done by,” said Butao.
However, Nakoma yesterday claimed that clause three of the loan deal states that his team shall retain 100 percent rights of the player in the event of an offer from another club.
“I fail to understand why Wanderers are making a fuss of this issue. Do they want us to block the player from prospects of a bright future because he is loaned to them? After all we can refund them the K750 000[US$1 667) they paid, it’s no big deal,” said Nakoma.
Meanwhile, Cosmos’ local representative Ben Chiwaya yesterday confirmed that both Sulumba and Mhone signed the contracts on Monday evening and what remains now is to agree on the transfer fee with their respective clubs.
“They are both excited having signed the contracts and they have been given a week’s break to return home and plan for their new lease of life in [Johannesburg] as we discuss transfer fees with their respective clubs,” said Chiwaya.
The Cosmos official said the two players were expected to fly back home yesterday afternoon.
He said initially, both were offered three-year deals, “but we were told by Malawi Police Service [MPS] that according to their rules, an employee cannot be offered leave of absence for more than two years and we had to revise the period for Mhone. Otherwise they are both good players and Jomo Sono [Cosmos owner and coach] was very impressed.”
Eagles general secretary AckisMuwanga confirmed that Mhone had signed the deal and all that remains is to agree on the transfer fee with Cosmos.
