Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has moved to block the sale of club franchises in both the newly-launched NBS Bank National Division League and the National Bank of Malawi Women’s Premiership which kicks off tomorrow.
FAM said the move is meant to preserve the integrity of competitions.
The directive, anchored in Article 8 of both leagues’ competition regulations, prohibits clubs from transferring their league status through sales, relocations or rebranding.
The Article reads in part: “No team will be allowed to sell its franchise and relocate its registered home base unless such a transaction is sanctioned by the FAM competitions committee. It must be noted that club’s entitlement to participate in the league will depend principally on sporting merit.
“The sale of a franchise which is to the detriment of a league and results in changing headquarters, changing the name and/or stakeholders, and furthermore is to the detriment of the integrity of sports competition, is prohibited.”
While appeals can be lodged with the FAM Appeals Board, the rules state that clubs that sell their franchise will be relegated to lower leagues.
Articles 8.2 and 8.3 of the Women’s Premiership also states the same on sale of clubs.
FAM competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka said the rule is meant to promote fair play.
He said: “We want to preserve the league’s sporting merit. Let teams be in the league because they have been promoted and not because they have money.”
Meanwhile, the rule has already had implications on Ntopwa owner Isaac Osman’s intentions to acquire Bangwe All Stars.
Despite reports that he already acquired Bangwe All Stars, which is participating in the National Division League, FAM still recognises Mphatso Jika as the official owner.
Said Zakazaka: “As per our records, Bangwe All Stars FC remains under Mphatso Jika. Only the change in management was communicated with Imran Master as now club president and Shamim Osman as the chief executive officer.”
However, football analyst Kelvin Moyo in an interview warned that the regulations could impact women’s football.
He said: “It’s a very complex issue. A Franchise is sold due to sustainability problems. Currently, apart from the financial package from FAM, the women’s game has no other revenue streams.
“It will be a tall order for these teams to be sustained unless all teams are owned by financially stable corporations and individual after going through massive diligence process by the regulator. Otherwise the idea is good but is being implemented in a wrong economic environment.”
FAM has also introduced a cap on foreign and youth player registrations. Clubs in both leagues are allowed to register up to 30 players, including 10 under the age of 23. At least five Under-23 players must be included in every match-day squad.
Each club is permitted to register only three foreign players per season and can field a maximum of two in any FAM-organised match.
In the women’s league, similar foreign player limits apply, but youth registration will not be enforced.
“Most women footballers are already in the youth category. So we saw no need to impose a mandatory Under-23 registration rule in the women’s league,” said Zakazaka.
