Does anyone have a clue?

In the wake of the joint decision by the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and the Super League of Malawi (Sulom) to stop Super League games from being played at Kamuzu Stadium following a spate of violent scenes in recent months, the question that has been exercising mind is whether the two bodies really know what the problem is, let alone what they have to do to get to the bottom of the problem and deal with it once and for all.

Some weeks ago there was a report from the country’s security services which was published in the media on this matter and it correctly predicted that unless something was done, the worrying events were likely going to continue with the potential to get worse. Anyone would have expected the authorities to treat such a report with the urgency it deserved, but apart from some curious statements, they slept on duty.

Then, out of the blues, they came up with the decision to ban Super League action from the stadium. On what basis? Are they saying these incidents were only happening in Blantyre? Have we not heard of similar ugly scenes in Balaka, Dedza, Lilongwe, Salima and Mzuzu? Are the authorities going to ban topflight football from these grounds as well? If the answer is yes, then I am afraid these bodies will eventually have no jobs.

It is clear that one of the major contributors to violence at the moment is the relationship between military teams and their civilian counterparts. One then wonders if this is a Blantyre thing. Did the two football bodies carry out thorough investigations to determine that? Even if that were the case, have the two bodies convinced themselves that the Blantyre fans cannot export their anger to any other pitch in the country?

In one of the ridiculous statements to come from the authorities, they were very categorical in declaring that the violence at our stadia was being perpetrated by Big Bullets and Mighty Wanderers fans. This is exactly where my questions are coming from because these are the only teams in Malawi with the capacity to fill any playing ground in the country, thereby making any pitch a potential flash point.

This is, therefore, a very complicated problem which needs more tact than emotion to sort out. In fact, the two bodies need to look within themselves and see how they have contributed to the problem. Reading various posts on social media, one gets the impression that this matter would not have reached these entrenched levels had our football authorities dealt with some early issues with a certain measure of competence.

Meanwhile, league football returns to our screens this weekend after a week when 21 of the 32 places at next year’s World Cup in Brazil were sealed. The other 11 slots await the five African qualifiers, the play-offs for runners-up in Europe’s groups and two inter-confederation play-offs all of which will be decided next month. That carnival ever gets closer with each passing week and the excitement is quite palpable.

Kicking off this weekend’s action in the English Premier League is Liverpool’s trip to the Sports Direct Arena or St James’ Park, the scene of Brendan Rodgers’ greatest triumph as manager of the Reds. It is difficult to foresee another 6-0 triumph but games with Newcastle always guarantee goals either way. Overall, this is a weekend of several potential banana skins and we could be in for several surprises.

And this is the weekend when injured Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale could return to action. Just in time for El Clasico which is just around the corner.