Ministry of Youth and Sports says it is yet to decide its contribution towards newly-appointed Flames coach Kallisto Pasuwa’s perks.
This is despite the Zimbabwean tactician already having signed a two-year contract with the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) on February 12.
The ministry’s spokesperson Macmillan Mwale in an interview yesterday said consultations with stakeholders, including Treasury, Malawi National Council of Sports and Office of President and Cabinet are still in progress.
“We haven’t decided how much our contribution will be, it is still work in progress,” he said.
“In the end, we will be advised by Treasury on how we should go about it because the coach’s perks will be part of FAM’s grant in the 2025/26 National Budget for national team programmes through Sports Council.”
Mwale said OPC will be involved because of the policy shift whereby the coach will no longer sign a contract with government, but directly with FAM.
On whether the coach will be paid arrears considering that he has already started working, he said: “At this point, we do not know how much FAM has offered him as his salary and, as I said, we are yet to decide on our contribution. So, it will depend on what will be agreed.”
On his part, Malawi National Council of Sports chief executive officer Henry Kamata said: “On behalf of government, Sports Council has communicated to FAM that we will contribute towards the salary of the coach in line with government salary structure.
“We expect that the other part ill be handled by FAM in line with their policies and regulations.”
FAM competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka asked for more time to consult on the matter.
During a recent meeting it had with FAM, the ministry said it would not be solely responsible for the coach’s perks and would only contribute in line with government salary structure.
Pasuwa’s deal was not without controversy as council initially halted the process until FAM explained how and why they chose him.
After signing the contract, his representative in the deal Dee Shorai Muchineripi expressed relief, saying he would now switch his attention to the job at hand other than being distracted by contract negotiations.
The former FCB Nyasa Bullets coach replaced Patrick Mabedi whose contract was terminated due to poor results culminating in four straight losses in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers last November.
FAM then hired Pasuwa on an interim basis to oversee the last two qualifiers against Burundi away, which ended goalless and a 3-0 victory at home against Burkina Faso.
