Elected or appointed officials?

• Sulom directive stirs debate

Super League of Malawi (Sulom) wants all Super League clubs to have statutes that are in line with the mother body and one of the contentious issues is that of a four-year term for office bearers.

Sulom has since requested all affiliates to submit their statutes for scrutiny as it moves in to make sure that clubs comply with the directive which is in line with Football Association of Malawi and Fifa statutes.

The move has attracted criticism from some clubs that want to move away from electing office bearers to appointing of executive committee to run the administration of the clubs.

But general secretary Williams Banda said they want to bring sanity on how Super League clubs saying that some individuals are put in office unconstitutionally.

Banda said: “Article 11, which is on obligations of affiliates, states that affiliates shall comply fully with the statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of Sulom, FAM, CAF, Fifa or any other relevant football governing body at all times.

“It is a club’s responsibility to ensure that the statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of Sulom, FAM, CAF, Fifa, or any other relevant football governing body are respected by its officials, players, coaches, technical personnel and any other official.

“In fact, part (g) of the Article 11 says that clubs must adopt statutes that are in accordance with this constitution as read with the statute of the Football Association of Malawi [FAM].”

Silver Strikers, one of the clubs that has already opted to do away with electing office bearers, has asked Sulom to reconsider.

Silver board of trustees’ chairperson McDonald Mafuta Mwale said they have reservations with Sulom’s directive.

“We do agree with Club Licensing System points, but on electing of office bearers, we would like to ask Sulom to let the wishes of the sponsors to be granted because this is an internal issue,” Mafuta Mwale said.

“In our case, the sponsors of Silver Strikers, Reserve Bank of Malawi, have decided to turn the club  into a limited company by guarantee with appointed board of directors to run the club and do not wish to have elected executive committee.”

Mwale noted that electing of office bearers was one of the reasons Malawi clubs are not developing.

“We believe what we are doing is international standard,” Mwale said. “Malawi is the only country that still has elected executive committee.”

Soccer analyst Charles Nyirenda also called upon clubs to move away from voting to appointing of officials.

“The business of electing officials to run day-to-day affairs of clubs is out of date. Clubs have to push for proper ownership other than having clubs without ownership who waste time electing officials,” said Nyirenda.

Big Bullets vice-general secretary Kelvin Moyo said clubs’ main challenge to appointment of officials was ownership.

“It’s only in Malawi were the secretariat is voted into office. Manchester United, Barcelona, Kaiser Chief- you name them- they all have appointed officials.

“This is what club licensing entails. The appointed officials are answerable to the owners. But the tricky part is that most of our teams do not have proper ownership. We need to establish ownership first if we are to prosper in the game.”

FAM Club Licensing System manager Casper Jangale said the issue would be referred to the legal committee.

“That’s why we have a legal committee whose responsibility is to interpret the constitution and come up with a stand on such legal matters,” Jangale said.

But one of the formulators of the Sulom constitution, lawyer Sunduzwayo Madise, noted the need to review the constitution in order for club management to move with time.

“Clubs are private entities. Most clubs are not associations. Therefore, to require them to follow FAM or Sulom constitutions is not correct,” said Madise.