No breather

There will be no moment’s respite for the TNM Super League players as Sulom says the top-flight will only break for a week after concluding the first-round this weekend.

Super League of Malawi (Sulom) general secretary (GS) Williams Banda justified the move, saying this has been done to reduce clubs’ expenses, considering that the first-round has prolonged due to Covid-19. He said: “Clubs were heavily affected due to the late kickoff as well as the lengthy break we had.
“So, to ease the financial burden on clubs, we felt a week’s break would do.”

Banda said the second round will kick off on May 22 and the season is projected to end in November subject to alignment of the national team engagements and other competitions.“The initial calendar has been affected by the shifting of [2022] World Cup qualifiers and the possibility of Cosafa Cup participation,” said the GS.

He also said the transfer window will open on May 15 and close on May 30. Most of the clubs which The Nation spoke to yesterday, welcomed the short break, saying it is in order considering the current circumstances.
Nyasa Big Bullets chief administration officer Albert Chigoga said: “It is a welcome idea. It is pointless to prolong the season even further.
“Already some teams have been on recess for sometime, having wrapped up their fixtures much earlier than others. Thus, we wouldn’t want the heat to die down.”
Ntopwa FC owner and technical director Isaac ‘Jomo’ Osman said considering how clubs are struggling financially, Sulom has done the right thing.
“We already had a long break not long ago and it really put us in a tight situation in terms of finances.

“The season has also been prolonged already, so there would be no justification to delay it further,” he said.
On his part, Karonga United GS Ramzey Simwaka said: “It’s a good move since we are already against time. We need to finish the season in good time and align with the Fifa calendar.”

However, Civil Service (Civo) United GS Ronald Chiwaula said the one-week break is not healthy for the players.
“It means our players will not rest going into the second round. Nevertheless, we do understand them [Sulom], considering the effects of Covid-19 and you might recall that the league was suspended for sometime and I think they are trying to make up for the lost time.
“Under the circumstances, there is little we can do other than hope that the players will cope,” he said.