National Football Coaches Association has asked Football Association of Malawi (FAM) to employ dedicated Flames assistant coaches instead of using club coaches on part-time basis.
But FAM says it engages part-time assistant coaches due to financial constraints and that the Malawi Government only funds the Flames head coach Kallisto Pasuwa.
The call follows the absence of Flames assistant coach Peter Mponda and fitness trainer Peter Mgangira at the recent Four Nations Tournament in Botswana.
Mponda, who is now Masters FC coach and his Silver Strikers counterpart Mgangira, excused themselves from national duty due to club commitments.
The situation prompted Pasuwa to draft in Russel Mwafulirwa and Fischer Kondowe for the tournament which Malawi finished last without scoring a goal in regulation time.
Coaches body chairperson Aubrey Nankhuni in an interview yesterday said the situation could have been avoided if Pasuwa had permanent assistants.
He said: “While the Flames head coach is the responsibility of the government, it is FAM’s responsibility to employ assistant coaches.
“We are confident that FAM can find resources for the hiring of two permanent assistant coaches.”
Nankhuni added that the permanent appointments would also reduce perceived conflict of interest involving club-affiliated coaches.
He said: “Let me stress that we are not targeting the current assistant coaches. Silver Strikers and Masters FC were justified not to release their coaches at a time they are preparing for the 2026 season.
“What we want is for FAM to release vacancies for two Flames assistant coaches and employ them on a permanent basis. Mgangira and Mponda will have to decide whether to apply for the permanent job or stay at their clubs.”
The coaches also wants FAM to lobby government to fund permanent head coaches for the Under-17, Under-20 national teams and Scorchers.
“For these positions, we support FAM’s argument that it is government’s responsibility since they are head coaches, but not for Flames assistant coaches,” he said.
But FAM operations director Gomezgani Zakazaka in an interview yesterday said the association lacks the resources to implement the proposal.
He said: “It is our wish to have not just Flames assistant coaches. We want all national team coaches to have permanent contracts.
“This is why last month we engaged Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture to help us. Unfortunately, government turned down the request.”
Football analyst Twaha Chimuka observed that elsewhere holding positions at club and national team is not an issue.
He said: “I know countries that have assistant coaches who had national team roles while still attached to clubs. I will give you an example of Guus Hiddink, who in 2009 managed Russia while taking temporary charge of Chelsea.”
Chimuka also cited Mark Hughes, who managed Wales while simultaneously coaching Blackburn Rovers in 2004.
However, he said Malawi’s context makes the arrangement problematic.
He said: “In Malawi, it has a lot of impact because there is an issue to do with competition among clubs and football politics.
“A club will take advantage of their head coach’s absence and ask to be excused from fixtures when it should not be the case.
“So it ends up affecting fixtures because a club will refuse to play in the absence of their coach.”
Meanwhile, Silver Strikers board member George Chiusiwa in an interview yesterday justified the club’s decision not to releasse Mgangira.
He said: “We won’t allow him to go and join the Flames when he has tight assignments with the club.
“Who would allow their coach to join the Flames, leaving the team that is preparing for the FDH Bank Premiership and with lots of new players that have just been signed?”
