FAM discard Muhammad Sulumba transfer saga
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has discarded a case in which Nyasa Big Bullets were seeking guidance on the controversy surrounding the transfer fee of their striker Muhammad Sulumba from South African club Polokwane City.
One of the club’s former top officials (name withheld) admitted to have pocketed R70 000 (about K3.5 million) from Polokwane as part payment of the deal without declaring it to the club and Bullets referred the matter to the local football governing body for directions “due to some conflicting statements from both parties [Polokwane and the former official]” three months ago.
However, FAM transfer matching systems manager Casper Jangale on Wednesday said the body’s only concern was to make sure Sulumba’s football career was not affected in any way.
“We deal with football issues and our concern was how to assist Sulumba. But as to how the club will deal with the issue of alleged fraud, we are not concerned. It is up to Bullets and the official to map the way forward,” Jangale said.
But Bullets vice-general secretary Bize Kalodzeni said they were banking their hopes on FAM to sort out the matter on their behalf.
“Our thinking was that FAM, as a mother body, would help us handle the matter,” Kalodzeni said.
He added that he needed to consult the club’s top officials on the way forward because they were not aware that FAM is no longer interested in the case.
In spite of that, Kalodzeni admitted that further delays to sort out the matter would portray a bad picture on Bullets’ seriousness on financial prudence in the eyes of their sponsors Nyasa Manufacturing Company (NMC) and have a negative impact on their commercialisation campaign.
“We need to get to the root of the matter. Otherwise, our reputation in terms of how we handle finances will be soiled,” he said.
Bullets chairperson Noel Lipipa told The Nation of September 3, 2016 that the said former top official told the club that the total transfer fee for Sulumba was R200 000, yet Polokwane chairperson Jonny Mogaladi said the actual amount was R240 000 and that R70 000 part payment was already made.
Sulumba signed a 30-month contract with the South African Premier League (PSL) side in July this year, but he could not be cleared on transfer deadline day because, according to Bullets, Polokwane failed to send a commitment letter to pay the R170 000 (about K8.5 million) balance within seven days. n
