The TNM Super League mid-season transfer window is in full swing, but the market is slow as Malawi’s football heavyweights are barely spending, a development attributed to the industry’s failure to produce top-quality players.
In the past, giants Silver Strikers, FCB Nyasa Bullets and Mighty Wanderers would go toe-to-toe in search for big-name signings, but this time the clubs are targeting the same rookies, notably Andrew Joseph of Chitipa United and Civil Service United’s Moses Banda.
Bullets, desperate to replace their captain Lloyd Aaron, who has joined a Qatari side, have re-signed Bright Munthali who returned from Mozambique and Khumbo Banda from PremierBet Dedza Dynamos, in deals completed before the window opened on August 8.
Wanderers, who are flag-carriers in the CAF Confederation Cup, are yet to hit the market, but are strongly linked with the same rookies Banda and Joseph.
CAF Champions League-bound Silver Strikers are yet to sign new players and, instead, have promoted reserve team products Dumisani Pemba, Sebastian Chinsomba, Emmanuel Nyakutepa and Innocent Smart.
The Bankers chief executive officer (CEO) Patrick Chimimba expressed the defending champions’ frustration on their transfer targets.
| Courtesy of Chitipa United
He said: “The quality of players on the market leaves a lot to be desired because of a number of reasons. Low incentives in the regional and lower-tier leagues mean that talented players are not sufficiently motivated to push themselves to the elite level.
“Then, there is an issue of recycled players, those who have been in the top-flight before continue to be moved around teams.
“Another factor is the rise of over-pampered players who are elevated too quickly without being tested [against] competitive and demanding conditions. This creates a situation where players lack the mental and physical resilience needed to excel at the top.
“All these point to huge gaps in developmental structures and competition levels. While one or two players may show flashes of brilliance, the challenge has always been that they rarely sustain their performance overtime.”
Bullets acting CEO Albert Chigoga also pointed at the same bottlenecks when it comes to replacements after selling players to foreign clubs.
“We are short of blockbuster talents. Perhaps a few lads who would require more time of polishing. It’s not a lost opportunity, local academies and youth teams must invest in talent identification and development.
“Yes, we have done so, but in the absence of a clear pathway, we end up failing to utilise the talent that comes from the reserves. Competition forces us to promote a few and still buy from the pool.
“With proper network, we should be able to transfer more players outside the country and promote the players from reserve and the cycle continues,” he said.
On the other hand, his Wanderers counterpart Panganeni Ndovi blamed the situation on the country’s football DNA.
He said: “I must say we need to have a lot of academies to teach most of the players the basics that they lack when playing at the highest level. In the long run, we will have a pool of options that clubs would have to choose from locally.”
In an interview, football analyst Kevin Moyo said the slow market reflects the industry’s inability to produce top-quality players.
He said: “The league is currently full of average players. For example, where can a team get a striker to score 20 goals in our league? I don’t see any.”
Moyo advised Wanderers and Silver to go beyond the borders in search for talent if they are to compete strongly in the CAF club competitions.
“Clubs need to go beyond the borders to get quality players. For our teams to be competitive in CAF competitions, they need to buy quality, but the problem is finances. Look at the current Champions League defending champions Pyramids of Egypt.
“They had to buy Congolese Feston Mayele, a top striker from Young Africans of Tanzania after he impressed during the Confederation Cup. Mamelodi Sundowns went to South America to hunt for top quality.”
But while agreeing with Moyo, Chimimba says Super League clubs lack the financial muscle to compete on the international market.
He said: “The unfortunate part is that our teams do not have a lot of resources to go beyond the borders. Wth the current revenues that come to teams we may even fail to attract quality players from outside.
“We should be honest with ourselves and have an analysis of our game from various angles, player development and commercial.
“How do we make our leagues attractive to foreign players? More investors in the game, what can motivate the investors to come into our game?
“Quality players, transparent and well managed clubs. How do we develop players to move through the system. Incentives and proper developmental structures.”
On his part, another analyst Twaha Chimuka said the talent pool is so shallow that clubs just copy each other’s targets.
He said: “The clubs are all targeting the same players simply because the coaches and clubs are not exploring the market with an independent view.
“They are all like—if they want him, then he is good let’s go for him also. The challenge is that the country stopped producing good coaches who can produce good players.”
Chimuka said apart from Joseph and Banda, other players worth their name and can make an impact if signed by Bullets, Silver or Wanderers are Civil centre-back, Peter Ng’ambi, Ochaya Okoti of Dedza Dynamos and Alfred Chizinga of Karonga.
“There are no stars to talk about or to be targeted. Currently, the breakout players are very few and are not very popular enough for them to be called household names,” he said.
Meanwhile, Super League of Malawi (Sulom) has urged clubs to operate within the rules and submit all transfers in an orderly manner.
A statement from Sulom reads in part: “Clubs are reminded to strictly adhere to these windows to ensure proper registration and eligibility of players for the second round.
“Sulom will not hesitate but impose appropriate sanctions on all parties that shall violate player transfer regulations during this window period.”
