FAM head, GS contradict on tourneys

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu has contradicted his general secretary on the country’s participation in international competitions.

While Nyirenda told the press recently that participation in the Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championship and Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup will be determined by a FAM executive committee meeting on Saturday, Nyamilandu yesterday said Malawi will not take part in both competitions.

Last week, Nyamilandu also announced that Malawi will not take part in both CAF Under-17 and Under-20 tournaments scheduled to start next year, but a day later, Nyirenda told the media that the determination would be made by the executive committee.

However, Nyamilandu laughed off suggestions that the contradictions were confirmation of a communication breakdown between him and his GS or that he was making unilateral decisions.

“The fact of the matter is that we are going into the executive meeting without any funding, so the executive has no choice, but if there was an option, then it would have been debated,” said Nyamilandu.

On the Cecafa tournament, he said despite Cecafa’s verbal claim that they had invited Flames as guests, there was no official communication yet.

“In any case, our coffers are dry and, therefore, we are not going to force things,” he said.