Govt unaware of Flames coach hiring
Malawi Government has not guaranteed financial backing to the new coach FAM wants to hire by next January, raising questions on Flames’ preparations for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
On Monday, Sports Council executive secretary George Jana said they were not involved in the coach’s recruitment drive and “the assumption is that it is being handled directly between FAM and government as was the case with previous coaches.”
The Ministry of Youth and Sports Principal Secretary Justin Saidi could not say whether they have softened up on their earlier stance that funds for a new coach would only be accessible mid next year, after the expiry of the contracts of redeployed Flames coaches Kinnah Phiri, his assistant Young Chimodzi and technical director Jack Chamangwana.
“We do not have anything to that effect on our table. We are just reading it from the papers.
FAM run the programme. They liaise with council and involve government at an appropriate time. Unless that is done, we cannot make a position,” Saidi insisted.
He could not even say the actual month Kinnah’s term would expire whereas FAM chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda put it at around next April.
Nyirenda on Tuesday said they would, hoping for government’s extra-budgetary support, go ahead with the association’s annual general meeting (AGM) resolution to advertise for the post “in the next three days.”
He said FAM submitted to government its programme of activities and money required between now and 2015, including qualifiers for 2015 Africa Cup of Nations which start early next year.
“We hope they will buy into
our proposal as we need to play at least two friendlies before the actual qualifying matches. If we are among 12 bottom ranked teams, we may even have to start playing earlier in the preliminaries,” said Nyirenda, adding that they had plan B in case government dilly-dallies, but he did not elaborate.
Upon the exit of interim Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet, FAM president Walter Nyamilandu told The Nation of September 10
2013 that they had suspended the hiring of new coach.
“The position of coach and his assistants will be vacant because the government vote towards the case still caters for the previous coaching panel and, therefore, I do not think the process of hiring a new panel will be done any time soon as there are a number of issues to be addressed,” Nyamilandu was quoted as saying.
