Little available for Malawi prepare for retirement

As the country’s legendary soccer stars continue to die as nonentities, fears have been sparked over players’ investment spirit and authorities’ lack of seriousness about the welfare of footballers.

This comes in the wake of recent deaths of former Flames stars Hendrix Banda and Kenneth Kandulu who during their sicknesses bemoaned the local soccer fraternity’s lack of interest to assist retired players.

Banda told Weekend Nation in a telephone interview from Kasungu a fortnight ago that he did not care whether local football authorities knew about his illness because he knew they could not do anything to help him.

Sports-related bodies such as Football Players Association of Malawi (Fpam) and Super League Players Association (SLPA) were recently formed in the country to look into the welfare of current and former footballers, but they too lack support. Their fundraising events often realise peanuts.

Moreover, local players believe their income, which averages K40 000 per month, is too little to make plans for investment for a rainy day after their football career.

Mighty Wanderers senior player Jacob Ngwira, who once played professional football in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL), said he does not mind about investment.

“I have left everything in the hands of God because He knows my future,” he said.

But Big Bullets veteran midfielder Fischer Kondowe said although they get peanuts in domestic football, a determined person can still save for the future.

Big Bullets chairperson Kondi Msungama argued that what local footballers fail to get it right on investments are effective managers.

“I have manged local players such as Peter Mponda, Robert Ng’ambi and Fischer Kondowe. If you look at them now, they all live comfortable lives. At least, each of them has something to show for his effort. Managers advise players how to spend their money and how to handle their fame,” said Msungama.

However, some soccer analysts believe what is important is to incorporate into players’ contracts provisions for education or vocational training while playing football, considering that football is a short-time career.

Silver Strikers general secretary Mike Tembo said it would also be helpful if there were a special revolving fund established through gate collections to offer loans to players upon retirement.

Epac FC owner Dini Josaya Banda feels it can also be beneficial if clubs and players agree on a mandatory deduction from a player’s monthly upkeep into a retirement package.

In professional leagues such as the English Premiership and the PSL in South Africa, footballers have pension schemes that go along with their contracts with clubs.

According to the World Professional Footballers Association website, www.thepfa.com, the schemes provide valuable benefits for the players and their dependants.

Super League of Malawi (Sulom) president Innocent Bottoman said ideas such as coming up with retirement packages and loans are brilliant, but clubs and players’ representatives ought to take the issues to Sulom annual general meeting (AGM) so that they can be discussed and implemented after necessary changes are made in the statutes.

Bottoman, however, cautioned that considering “the amateur way most local clubs are being run at present, it would be a tall order for such changes to bear sweet fruits”.

According to labour laws in the country, employees are supposed to receive pension at the end of their contracts but Bottoman said it is extremely tough to apply regulation in the current setting of Malawi soccer.

He said preparing players for retirement are among recommendations Fifa made during the Lilongwe Declaration in 2009 in line with running the leagues professionally, but the problem is that the process is moving at a snail’s pace.

“We are failing to graduate to where other countries like South Africa are at the moment. The fact that most civilian teams do not have corporate sponsorship makes things even worse for us to achieve that feat. But, all in all, the enactment of laws on footballers’ retirement packages can be a brilliant idea,” he said.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu and chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda could not be reached for comments as they are currently in Brazil for a Fifa congress.

But Nyirenda was quoted in The Daily Times few days ago saying FAM has a policy on welfare of former national team players, especially, in terms of helping them when they get sick or their families require assistance when the players die.

However, Sports Council executive secretary George Jana said welfare of players is the responsibility of clubs that employ them not of the council, FAM or Sulom.