Hiccup in CAF registration
- FAM fails to register 10 Masters players and five for Nomads
Be Forward Wanderers and Masters Security have been thrown in a tight spot ahead of continental tournaments’ kick-off as some of their players could not be registered by the cut-off point on New Year’s Eve.
The Nomads submitted a list of 27 players while Masters presented 25 to Football Association of Malawi (FAM) for registration for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League and Confederation Cup, respectively.
However, according to FAM acting competitions manager Casper Jangale, they only managed to register 15 players for Masters and 22 for the Nomads.
“It is a slow process and had the teams submitted the names earlier than the actual deadline, we could have registered all the players,” he said.
The FAM official said this means that the two teams will have to cough a $250 (about K183 500) late registration fee for each player before January 15.
After January 15, CAF doubles the fee translating to $500 (about K367 000) each player.
Nomads team manager Stevie Madeira yesterday said they will have no choice but to pay the fees for the remaining five players before January 15 which would translate to $1 250 (about K917 500) while for Masters they will be required to pay $2 500 (about K1.83 million).
Madeira also said the list included all their seven new signings William Thole, Peter Cholopi, Dan Kumwenda (Azam Tigers); Niikiza Aimabre (Nyasa Big Bullets), Misheck Botomani, Dennis Chembezi (PremierBet Wizards) and latest catch Blessings Tembo (Silver Strikers.
Tembo was signed as a free agent on New Year’s Eve following the expiry of his contract with the Bankers where he was the captain.
Masters general secretary (GS) Zacharia Nyirenda and patron Alfred Gangata could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Teams participating in the continental tournaments are required to register a maximum of 30 players, but speaking earlier yesterday, the Nomads GS Mike Butao said they would reserve five slots in case of eventualities.
“We need depth in the squad because we will be competing both on the local front and internationally. So, it is going to be a long season and obviously there are bound to be injuries and fatigue,” he said.
Wanderers are set to start their preparations next Tuesday while Masters have said they will regroup today.
Both teams will kick-start their campaigns between February 9 and 11. The Nomads will host AS Vita from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) while Masters are expected to travel to Angola to take on Atletico Petroleos de Luanda.