Mtawali for short camping duration

Flames new coach Ernest Mtawali has said he will prefer one week training camp for the team.

The development would be a departure from the normal trend whereby the Flames usually camp for two weeks or more.

“For now, we are just starting and that is why we should work with the local-based players for the first two weeks from mid this month to choose players that will join the professionals for the [2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier] against Swaziland,” said Mtawali on Wednesday.

The Flames are scheduled to engage Swaziland’s Sihlangu on September 4 away in Mbabane.

“I am not trying to start a new thing, it’s the way it should be. Senior national team players are supposed to be finished products who should not be taught basics.

“National team players are only supposed to be drilled in tactical and technical aspects such as game formation and approach. That is why even Fifa rules stipulate that players can only be released for national duty five days before the game and we need to be accustomed to that,” said the Flames legend.

He added: “Of course, there are rare occasions when players are coming from off-season and that is when you negotiate for a slightly longer period due to level of fitness, but then in such circumstances, it is at the discretion of the club whether or not to release a player.”

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) general secretary Suzgo Nyirenda yesterday said camping duration is determined by the technical panel depending on the coach’s programme and availability of funding.

“It [camping duration] is largely dependent on budget and the programme which the coaches have submitted and in Ernest’s case, our understanding is that he is looking at Fifa rules and regulations in relation to releasing players for national duty.

“Elsewhere, clubs are only required to release players five days prior to the match, but it varies depending on the coach’s plans like most of our coaches preferred having camp training for two weeks or more,” said Nyirenda.

He also said short camping periods are a cost-cutting measure, “because you do not spend much”.

Nyirenda further said the association roughly spends K3 million a week on camp training.

The FAM GS also disclosed that they had an initial meeting with Mtawali and his assistant Nsanzurwimo Ramadhan on Tuesday.

Asked whether the two coaches have asked for a friendly match, Nyirenda said: “There was no such suggestion probably because there is no Fifa calendar date between now and the time we play Swaziland.