The Ministry of Youth and Sports has asked for associations’ input on the proposed sports restart measures so that they can be reviewed before submission to the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19.
The ministry’s publicist Simon Mbvundula said this yesterday, a day after the measures were documented. Government is pushing for sports events resumption months after they were suspended to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among others, the measures titled Guidelines for Reopening of Sporting Activities Amid Covid-19 Pandemic, demand strict adherence to the coronavirus preventive measures once sports resumes.
However, there are controversial areas too like ban on Malawi’s participation in international events. It could mean the national football team would not be able to compete in 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup that will be played in under two months.
Mbvundula said the associations still have a chance to share their views on the guidelines.
“We want them to tell us the areas they think should be scrapped off or added. There is also need for justification. We are ready to listen,” he said.
The spokesperson said the ministry expects to submit the proposed guidelines to the Task Force within the week.
Meanwhile, Football Association of Malawi general secretary Alfred Gunda said they have not received the document and a request to share their views.
“We are willing to have our input on the guidelines. It’s not a huge task as we will simply compare the measures with our football restart roadmap.
“Thereafter, we can lobby for the inclusion of our ideas that have been left out or ask for removal of the elements that we feel are not good for our game,” he said.
The measures, which also discourage crowding of venues, demand coronavirus tests and players’ quarantine will come into effect once the task force has approved them. n
