Coaches team up on relegation
To help SR teams stay in the top league
In an unprecedented move, the Southern Region Coaches Committee (SRCC) has gone out of its way to ensure that no Southern Region TNM Super League team gets relegated this season.
The committee’s members, in liaison with the Southern Region football development officer Jack Chamangwana and SRCC regional coach Rodgers Yasini, offer week-long additional coaching sessions to each of the league struggling sides in the region.
“We are alarmed at the rate teams in the region are getting relegated. When the league was born [in 1986], the South had nine teams, five for the Centre and two for the North, but the number has declined [to six] in the South,” Yasini said on Sunday at Kamuzu Stadium.
The coaches are driven by the need to preserve the region’s football pride but also to enhance unity and knowledge sharing in the region in line with Chamangwana and new FAM technical director John Kaputa’s football development strategy.
So far Mighty Wanderers, Blantyre United and Evirom have benefitted from the services of the coaches and their results have improved. Evirom were last Sunday able to register their first Super League win in eight games. Wanderers and United have also shown positive displays.
Chamangwana, Yasini and other coaches such as Chancy Msema, Trevor Kajawa, McDonald Mtetemera and SRCC general secretary Aubrey Nankhuni drill players with the club’s coaches watching on the sidelines. The club coaches take over when forming the final squad for weekend games.
Relegation often results in the teams’ extinction, leaving the South with six Super League teams than the Central Region’s seven, observed Yasini. He attributed this to factors such as lack of sponsorship, players’ burnout, indiscipline and poor coaching.
Nankhuni shared Yasini’s observation, adding that the committee plans to source sponsorship for the volunteer coaches. On Wednesday, Chamangwana confirmed the development.
“Every season, two teams get relegated and we noted that some teams do not have qualified coaches. They approach us seeking help. We can help any team at any level, including schools. We do not charge,” Chamangwana explained.
On Wednesday, United coach Elijah Kananji said he did not hesitate to accept SRCC’s help to be exemplary and prove wrong other club coaches who might be fearing for their jobs if they seek external help.
“By observing them, it enlightened me on tactics. This initiative is helpful. When they approached me, it was easy for me to accept their help as I am also an SRCC member,” said Kananji.
The initiative comes amid SRFL chairperson Trouble Kalua’s concerns made last Saturday, noting: “Our teams do not survive in the Super League beyond a season. Delayed season deny the teams enough rest. I fear for Evirom’s survival.”
Escom United and Bvumbwe Research were relegated last year, Cobbe Barracks and Zomba United in 2011, Blackpool also went down in 2010 and Sammys a few seasons ago. No Central Region team has been relegated in the last three seasons.
Most SRFL teams do not survive in the Super League due to factors mentioned by the coaches. Kaputa has embraced the concept, promising to set proper football development structures across the country, giving hope that the North, which is no better than the South, will also benefit.
The Central Region Coaches Committee publicity secretary Millias Jegwe Pofera said they were not shaken by their Southern Region counterparts. He added that their strength lies in the vibrant lower league which feed a lot of talent to their Super League sides.
