FAM ponders big change 

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) is reviewing the local football calendar to align it with that of Confederation of African Football (CAF) which starts in August and concludes in May.

Currently, the local season starts in March and ends in December.

The association’s competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka in an interview yesterday, said the FAM executive committee already approved that the calendar be aligned with that of CAF.

He said: “We are in a situation where our calendar starts in March and concludes in December when that of CAF starts in August and concludes in May.

“What this means is that there is a period between December and March when our football is off season yet CAF competitions are active.

“This puts our national teams and clubs participating in CAF inter-club competitions at a disadvantage since our players struggle with match fitness because of being idle.

“Not only that, but issues such as transfer windows are not aligned with those of the other countries which results in so many challenges.”

Zakazaka said following the FAM ex-co’s approval of the need to review the calendar, the association will carry out a feasibility study on aligning it with the CAF calendar.

Apart from Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe also have calendars that run from March to December while the rest of the continent follow that of CAF.

He said: “We used to have a season that run from August to May. But around 2003, 2004 and 2005 we changed.

“Then we adopted the March to December calendar. Basically, we will have to look at why we changed. What necessitated those changes?

“After the feasibility study, we will  come up with a concept paper on how we can implement the change to align it with CAF calendar. However, this is going to be a gradual process.”

Meanwhile, TNM Super League champions FCB Nyasa Bullets, who have been participating in CAF Champions League for the past four years, have welcomed the review.

Bullets chief administration officer Albert Chigoga said: “It is good news. It will also enable us secure proper friendly matcheswith teams that follow the same calendar in preparation for the CAF Champions League.”

But football analyst Kevin Moyo said while the concept is good, the challenge remains the rainy season.

He said: “It’s a very good concept. Not only will it help in ensuring that all our activities are aligned with CAF and the other countries, but also streamline all our football programmes with CAF.

“The only setback is the rainy season. With most of our infrastructure in poor conditions, playing in rainy season is a big challenge due to water-logged pitches.

“It’s only Kamuzu Stadium and Mpira Stadium that are playable in the rainy season due to their artificial turfs. The rest are a disaster.

“Of course, Zambia has the same rain pattern with us and changed to the CAF calendar. But they are also facing the same challenges of unplayable surfaces during the rainy season.”