No turning back

 Regional football leagues want to maintain the format they used last season as it will improve competitiveness and cut operational costs.

Southern Region Football Association (SRFA)

alongside its Central and Northern Region (NRFA) counterparts embraced a shortened arrangement last season to cope with the delayed kick-off as a result of Covid-19 pandemic.

But after having a feel of the new formats, the association believes their competitiveness and cost effectiveness are too good to let them return to old format.

SRFA chairperson Raphael Humba said apart from spending less on administration, the new format also helped improve competitiveness of the league as no team forfeited points.

He said: “As SRFA, we are satisfied with the shortened format and we would like to maintain it next season and beyond. We have currently submitted our proposal to the Football Association of Malawi’s [FAM] competitions sub-committee for endorsement.

“With the old format, we had so many matches, resulting in big spending for both the association and

 the teams. Some teams as well forfeited their remaining games after collecting a few points in the first round. With the new format, no team could become champions after earning free points.”the teams. Some teams as

However, Humba said there will be a slight change to the format as they will have two groups, instead of four in the preliminary round.

“This means we will be able to produce champions after 20 games and not 38 matches as was the case with the old setup,” he said.

Northern Region Football Association (NRFA) general secretary Masiya Nyasulu and Central Region Football Association (CRFA) vice-general secretary Antonio Manda said they are eager to maintain the new format,

 “As NRFA, we are of the view that we should not

 revert to the original format. To say the truth, going back to the old league format will be suicidal, considering the resources and time it demands. In spite of that, we are currently consulting other stakeholders such as clubs,” Nyasulu said.

On his part, Manda said: “We will hold an executive meeting next week, where we will discuss the matter thoroughly.”

Last season, the South saw their 20 Premier Division teams divided into four groups for round-robin matches. Top-two teams from each group qualified for two-legged quarter-finals. Winners made it into two-legged semi-finals before the final.

In the Centre, 24 Premier Division teams were divided into six zones and top-two teams from each zone qualified for the second round. The team that emerged top of the table are declared champions

 In the North, 20 teams were divided into three clusters. The best two from each cluster made it into the final round of league-format encounters.

Regional league clubs have welcomed the idea of maintaining last season’s format, saying they enjoyed enjoyed it.

“Apart from being cost-effective, the shortened format made it possible for

 us to play on better pitches. The old format exposed us to many rough and bare pitches,” said South League’s Prison United team manager Mark Chiutira.

Mchinji Boma Strikers general secretary Lyson Tasauka in the Centre and the North’s Baka FC team manager Alick Zungu agreed with Chiutira that the idea is a positive development.

FAM competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka said the FAM competitions sub-committee will look into the proposals.

“The competitions sub-committee will look into positives and negatives of last season’s format and weigh it against the original league arrangement. The one with more positives will be taken on board,” he said