Bullets get CAF nod for tourney
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has granted FCB Nyasa Bullets a licence to participate in the 61st edition of the CAF Champions League after meeting all the requirements for the continental inter-club competitions.
This follows a meeting presided over by the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) First Instant Body (FIB) on Saturday where it scrutinised documents submitted by the People’s Team.
FAM club licensing and compliance manager Casper Jangale confirmed in an interview yesterday that Bullets provided all the necessary information, complete with proof.
“CAF have become very strict in issuing a licence for its inter-club tournaments and the FIB was guided by the club licensing regulations,” he said.
Jangale said among others, Bullets were asked to prove that they have a well-defined youth development programme and that they own women’s team.
He said: “They also had to prove that they have a medical scheme for their players.
“There was also the issue of infrastructure, that is to say whether they have a training venue which they own or lease and a CAF/Fifa approved stadium where they will host their matches complete with an agreement from the owners of the facility if they do not have their own.
“The other crucial issue was financial in which they had to prove sound financial backing, a budget and audited accounts as well as ownership.”
Jangale said the other areas were administration and personnel, which includes a well established secretariat complete with staff.
“So, basically they met all these requirements and the FIB was satisfied, leading to CAF’s approval on the same,” he said.
A letter from CAF signed by its director of tournaments and events Samson Adamu addressed to member associations stresses that “from now on, no club should be allowed to take part in CAF inter-club competitions if they do not meet such requirements”.
Bullets chief administration officer Albert Chigoga said they are happy to have made the grade.
He said: “It is not an easy process and we will now switch to competition matching system which leads to the player registration period for the preliminary stage.”
For the sixth year running, Bullets will be the only men’s team to take part in a CAF clubs’ tournament.
In a related development, Ascent Academy, who are the reigning women’s national champions, are set to take part in a CAF Champions League Qualifying tournament for the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) zone.
The 2024/25 CAF inter-club tournaments are scheduled to kick-off in August with the preliminary rounds while registration is set to start early July.
