Masters Security coaches resign
A new wave of crisis has hit Super League outfit Masters Security after assistant trainer Eliah Kananji resigned barely three days after head coach Abas Makawa quit the financially struggling club.
It leaves the club without a recognised coach as they prepare to kick-start the league’s second round against defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets at Kamuzu Stadium tomorrow.
The resignations follow the team’s failure to pay the coache’s salaries in a stretch of four months.
Under Makawa, Masters won Carlsberg Cup last year before guiding them to two CAF Confederations Cup qualifications in three seasons.
Meanwhile, Makawa has joined Silver Strikers as assistant coach. He takes over from Lovemore Fazili who is now with the Malawi national football team.
“I started work at Silver on Tuesday. Masters owe me salaries dating back to four months. This is why I decided to begin a new chapter,” he said in an interview yesterday.
On his part, Kananji said he resigned on Monday, having not been paid for three months, accumulating salary arrears of over K1.5 million.
The former Bullets and Be Forward Wanderers coach said he pended his resignation after the club promised to pay him this week.
“But up to now nothing has happened so I activated the resignation on Wednesday. It doesn’t help me to be struggling paying rent when I am employed,” he said.
Kananji was is linked with a move to the Civil Sporting Club assistant coach’s position left by Oscar Kaunda who joined Wanderers.
Pressed on his next move, Kananji said he has been invited for interviews at Civil.
“I am going there this afternoon [yesterday] for the interviews. After that, I will wait and see what happens,” he said.
Last month, Masters players boycotted training and their subsequent match against Mzuni FC and, with that, lost three points. They are currently stuck in the relegation zone.
Masters General Secretary Christopher Njeula described the coaches’ departure as a blow but dismissed financial challenges as the main reason behind their decisions.
“If they didn’t receive offers from bigger clubs, I believe they could still be here. We have been with these coaches for a long time and we can’t say they were not being paid all this time,” he said.
Njeula said they have, in the meantime, elevated assistant coaches Lyton Mangani and Jabin Maliro as interim coaches as they seek replacements. “We will miss Makawa and Kananji because we set this season’s agenda together. But luckily enough, we have Mangani and Maliro who were understudying them. They will be in charge until we recruit new coaches,” he said.
