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Mpinganjira dangled wanderers’ shares 

M

ighty Mukuru Wanderers have  offered their board chairperson Thom Mpinganjira a majority stake in the team as the club intensifies its commercialisation drive, The Nation can reveal.

A statement issued by Mighty Wanderers 2021 Limited yesterday states that the Nomads have also maintained the business mogul and philanthropist as president and board chairperson.

The Nation has also established that at its last meeting, the previous board resolved to offer Mpinganjira full shares for being the only director who invested a fortune towards the team’s operations from last season.

Wanderers players celebrate a goal during one of their matches

In an interview yesterday, Wanderers chairperson of chairs committee and commercialisation and public relations and media liaison chairperson Clement Stambuli confirmed the resolution, but said they were still waiting for the club president’s response.

He said: “That resolution was taken by the previous board because at its inception, the board was temporary to set the pace for transition. The board further gave the president powers to reconstitute the board.

“Where we are coming from, the board was constituted without any paid-up shareholders and with time, it was only Dr. Mpinganjira who has been funding the team such that in the past year alone, he has funded the team in excess of K350 million, as such, the resolution by the board to offer him the shares so that we can move forward legally.”

In an interview yesterday, Mpinganjira said he was still reviewing the resolutions made during previous board meeting.

Meanwhile,  the Lali Lubani Road club have reconstituted its board of directors from 24 to eight.

Part of the statement signed by Mpinganjira, reads in part: “The new board of Wanderers Football Club 2021 Limited will look after the affairs of the team and all its assets. On the other hand, Wanderers Supporters Limited will be responsible for the supporters.”

Stambuli is among the retained board members.

The former Cabinet minister will also be responsible for public relations and media liaison.

Private practice lawyer Chancy Gondwe has been retained as legal adviser and company secretary while Mervis Mangulenje and Chris Kapelemera Gondwe will chair finance and business development committees, respectively.

Limbani Magomero has been entrusted to chair the football development committee while former board secretary  Humphrey Mvula and Adelaide Migogo have been retained as directors.

Some of the previous board members, conspicuously missing in the reconstituted team include, are the club’s former chairpersons Gift Mkandawire and Symon Sikwese, former vice-chairperson Jack Kamwendo, Minister of National Unity Timothy Mtambo as well as Harry Msiska.

Jeremoth Chilapondwa and Ernest Maganga will be ex-officio directors by virtue of their appointments as Wanderers Supporters Limited chairperson and general secretary, respectively.

Other members of the supporters board are Susan Dossi, Melvin Nkunika, Sam Mponda, Chikhulupiliro Mphatso, Brian Coombes and Nyongani Gondwe.

The Nomads delight in being the oldest team in the country and one of the most successful clubs on the domestic scene.

Until July last year when they were registered as a limited liability company, the Nomads had been operating as a community team since the team’s inception in 1962.

Nyasa Big Bullets successfully transitioned to a commercial entity after Nyasa Manufacturing Company took over five years ago.

The club is run as a company with full time employees, among them former Football Association of Malawi chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda and journalist Kevin Moyo.

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