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New Big Bullets boss unveils fresh plans

–To hire CEO, restructure set-up

Big Bullets FC new boss Sam Chilunga has unveiled an ambitious transformation drive aimed at breathing a new lease of life into the People’s Team which is currently suffocating under a pile of debts.
Speaking in an interview with The Nation on Tuesday, Chilunga, who was co-opted onto the club’s hot seat this week, said the priority will be to improve players’ welfare and ensure that supporters who invest in the club are rewarded.
“If there is one thing that motivated me to accept the request to lead the team, it was the plight of the players. What they get is on the lower side, they need to be motivated for them to give their all. It is also important that we reward our supporters with good results.
“But for that to happen, there is need to rebrand and do things in an ethical and professional way. We also need to restore sanity. That is the only way we can demonstrate seriousness,” he said.
The new Bullets boss said among other things, the team will hire a chief executive officer (CEO) who has already been identified, review the constitution, set up a code of ethics that will be signed by all exco and main supporters committee members.

New broom Chilunga says BB are poor by choice
New broom Chilunga says BB are poor by choice
“We also need a proper structure that will clearly outline the roles of administrative and technical officials. We shall also set-up finance, marketing, disciplinary and technical subcommittees,” he said.
“Further to that, we are also planning to strengthen the board of trustees and empower it to keep watch over the exco. We will also have a strategic plan and we already have a skeleton which I drafted and I believe all these can be done in the short or long-term. These were the conditions I set when the supporters committee approached me to consider taking over as chairperson,” said the chartered accountant and banker.
Asked how a club that is battling a severe cash squeeze will pay a CEO and improve players’ welfare, Chilunga appearing ice-cool said: “We have well-wishers who are prepared to help us roll out our reformation drive, we are also working on a number of income generating projects as well as courting potential partners.
“We are trying to set up a foundation and thereafter everything will work out smoothly, all that we will require is the understanding and support from all stakeholders. BB is a poor team, but it is poor by choice, otherwise it is the biggest brand in sports circles on the local scene, only that the brand has been misused for a long time.”
He said there are plans to beef up the squad ahead of the TNM Super League second-round in the quest to retain the title and also engage a chaplain as the team’s spiritual father.
Chilunga said he has already held preliminary meetings with some officials, “but we are having the first serious meeting on Thursday [today] where we will map the way forward”.
The Bullets exco is scheduled to have a press conference tomorrow at Protea Ryalls in Blantyre.
Soccer pundit and former Football Association of Malawi (FAM) CEO Charles Nyirenda said Bullets have the potential to realise their dreams if they can translate their plans into action.
“Bullets is a big brand, but it lacks proper set-up and if the new leadership is talking about setting up a secretariat, hiring a CEO and putting in place working committees then that would be a good starting point in line with the 2009 Lilongwe Declaration for Super League clubs.
“The team’s biggest asset is the huge following which is money waiting to be tapped. What they need is just a proper structure and that can attract sponsors in the long run,” said Nyirenda.

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