Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Alfred Gangata on Wednesday said he was not amused that Football Association of Malawi (FAM) made him “look like a fool” when he tried to intervene in the impasse between the association and Sulom over the state of Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.
A source confided in the Weekend Nation that the minister opened up on his frustration during a meeting with officials from his ministry, Malawi National Council of Sports and FAM which lasted five hours.
The minister convened the meeting amid reports of a fallout between FAM and Sulom on one hand and the association and women’s FA on the other.
Said the source: “The minister said he was not amused that when he called the FAM president [Fleetwood Haiya] to meet and resolve the stand-off on the stadium issue ahead of the launch, Mr Haiya kept on assuring him that he would show up for the meeting at Sunbird Mount Soche, but he never did.
“Actually, the minister told the meeting that when he toured the facility a day before the scheduled FDH Premiership launch, he established that some parts of the stadium were indeed not in good condition, but considering the situation, as preparations for the launch were at an advanced stage, they had to reach an amicable solution.
“In his words, the minister said ndinawoneka ngati chitsiru…ngati wopusa [you made me look stupid…like a fool].”
The source further said Gangata asked Haiya why Sulom proceeded with the arrangement to host the launch at the stadium when they [FAM] stood their ground, to which the FAM president said he could not respond on their behalf.
“It was at this point that the minister ordered that there should be another meeting, scheduled for May 28, involving the ministry, Sports Council, FAM, Women’s FA and Sulom to get to the bottom of the issue and that FAM should shelve its disciplinary case against Sulom until after the next meeting,” said the source.
The source further said at that point, Haiya indicated that they wanted to proceed with the disciplinary matter to avoid being taken to task by Fifa.
“But Sports Council board member Mr Flackson Walapa said whille Fifa has its rules, it should not stop Malawi from handling issues in its own way and the minister directed that the Sulom disciplinary issue should be shelved,” said the source.
During the meeting, the minister also wondered why FAM always takes its begging bowl to government when it gets millions in US dollars from Fifa and CAF [Confederation of African Football], to which Haiya responded that it is because senior national teams are a responsibility of government.
Said the source: “The minister also asked FAM why they include many officials during national teams’ foreign trips and in response, Haiya said officials are included so that they can learn from their foreign colleagues on how they administer the game and as a result, some have been appointed CAF commissioners,” said the source.
“But the minister dismissed the assertion, saying most of the officials that were appointed as commissioners were recommended by FAM because they were loyal to the FAM president.”
FAM was also directed to follow protocol when asking or following up on funding issres other than going straight to Treasury.
“The PS [Principal Secretary] Mr [Jameson] Ndalama explained that as per protocol, FAM is supposed to take up issues with Sports Council, who in turn take them up with the ministry which then deals with Treasury,” said the source.
The other hot issue was a confession by Women’s FA chairperson Adellaide Migogo that she has been completely sidelined by the FAM leadership.
The source said, among others, she told the meeting that she is not involved in the administrative issues of the women’s game, including the national league and the Scorchers.
But Haiya said the Scorchers are managed by FAM because they are a national team, arguing that is why Sulom does not manage the men’s senior national team.
However, in the past, the women’s FA was responsible for managing the national team, including hiring of coaches.
The minister is then reported to have directed that the issue will be dealt with further when the entire Women’s FA shows up at the next meeting.
While confirming that the issues were indeed raised by the minister, the ministry’s spokesperson Macmillan Mwale said some of them were “classified in nature”. He also confirmed that the next meeting is scheduled for May 28.
