Local clubs continue to miss out on rankings
Malawian football teams continue to miss out on rankings that are prepared by Football Database.
The latest African club rankings released six days ago show that at least 607 clubs appear on the rankings with none from Malawi.
Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa are the top-ranked team followed by Al Ahly of Egypt; Esparance de Tunis from Tunisia are third; TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo are fourth while FAR Rabat also from Morocco are fifth.
Raja Casablanca of Morocco, Atletico Petro Luanda of Angola, Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, Zamalek of Egypt and El Hilal of Sudan complete the top 10.
Neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Tanzania have a number of teams on the rankings
Football marketing consultant Felix Ngamanya Sapao said it is not surprising that Malawian teams continue to miss out on the rankings.
He said: “Our football is overrated. We are still miles behind in many areas, especially standard of play, organization and class.
“Apart from [FCB Nyasa] Bullets, our teams rarely take part in continental tournaments and even for Bullets, they have only gone past the first hurdle once in five attempts. So, that matters a lot as well.”
Sapao, who has worked with teams such as TP Mazembe, Dynamos FC of Zimbabwe and Simba SC of Tanzania, also said due to low sponsorship of the local top-flight league, Malawian teams are unable to attract foreign quality players.
He said: “Quality foreign players add value to teams.
“There is need for our clubs to invest a lot to reach a point of making a grade. [Mighty Mukuru] Wanderers are trying because of the fortune that their president Dr [Thomson] Mpinganjira is investing, but it will take them a bit of time to reach the top level.”
Reacting to the rankings, FCB Nyasa Bullets chief administration officer Albert Chigoga said there are several permutations to the situation.
“First is that perhaps our clubs are not doing well enough in continental competitions or one would question the pedigree of the ranking organization in skipping us in the process,” he said.
