FAM won’t attend 2013 Afcon draw

FAM has said it will not send a representative to attend the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations final qualification draw to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 5.

In a statement released on Monday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) says it expects member associations that have qualified for the final round of qualifiers to send representatives to witness the draw that will be held at Tanz Cafe, Emperors Palace.

However, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of sending a representative to the event.

“We would have loved to send a representative, but we cannot afford such luxury,” said Nyamilandu.

The Flames qualified for the final phase of qualification after beating Chad’s Sao 4-3 on aggregate. The Flames are not among 15 teams that have been seeded for the final qualifying round draw.

The draw has seen continental giants such as defending champions Zambia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Tunisia, Nigeria and Guinea being seeded in Pot 1. Egypt must overturn a 3-2 home deficit at the Central African Republic in the return leg to also make it to Pot 1.

If the Pharaohs advance, Morocco will drop to Pot 2 which has the rest of the teams including the Flames.

Meanwhile, local football officials have been listed for a number of high-profile courses at the CAF Football Academy in Younde Cameroon.

Already, two female referees Grace Msiska and Bernadetter Kwimbira attended a week-long women referees course which ended on Sunday.

John Kaputa, who is FAM’s education officer, will attend a course for CAF education officers at the same venue from July 19-July 21 whereas Karen Chiwaula will attend a CAF women coaching instructors course from July 9-13 as a follow-up to another course she attended in Kenya last year.

“These courses are important if our game is to develop, we need to train as many people as possible to ensure that our officials have the modern expertise,” said FAM chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda.

In a related development, the extraordinary general assembly for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will be held on September 3, in the Seychelles. The main agenda for the meeting will be to revise CAF statutes.