Nyamilandu ends speculation on FAM re-election bid

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu has finally come out of his cocoon and declared that he will seek re-election at the association’s elective general assembly on December 16 in Mzuzu.

Nyamilandu, who has been FAM president for the past 19 years, made the announcement last evening on Mibawa Television.

In his speech, he said he has heeded the call by affiliates for him to seek re-election under ‘Bridging the Gap’ manifesto, which he said is an extension of 2019’s blueprint ‘Raising the Bar’.

Nyamilandu said he has achieved a lot in his reign and would like to finish the job in his last term.

He said: “I know that even today, we still savour the memories of the 2021 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon where the Flames, reached the round of 16.

“As we bask in that glory, let us not forget that that achievement was our second in 10 years. In 2010, we ended 24 years of a troubled walk in the wilderness of continental football when we qualified for Afcon finals in Angola where we made ourselves count.

“When we won the Cosafa Plate in 2015 and reached the Cosafa semi-finals this year, we wrote our story that despite limited resources and a still-developing elite league, we can outperform footballing counterparts in Southern Africa and beyond.

Nyamilandu said FAM under Raising the Bar manifesto,  the Scorchers won the Cosafa Women’s Championship while the beach soccer national team also managed to qualify for the Beach Soccer Afcon.

He said: “We have organised women’s football competitions, all of them sponsored by FAM.  Recently, we introduced Women’s Football Championship which is played at regional and national levels.  Under our guidance at FAM, we have seen Super League teams owning and supporting women’s football teams in their ranks.

“Today, we stand tall as a nation of achievers in women’s football, following an incredible performance by our national women’s football team, the Scorchers.”

Nyamilandu said the achievements are a result of robust grassroots and youth development projects.

He said: “We are developing this culture methodically and systematically, starting from our young citizens. We are talking about youths that can take us to international football stage like what the Under-17 football team did in 2009 when it qualified for the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria.

“In April this year, our youngsters at Salima Secondary School brought us so much joy when they displayed spectacular football at CAF African Schools Championship in Durban, South Africa.  And they brought us bronze. This is the spirit of Raising the Bar.”

Nyamilandu, who was elected Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive member in July, said he has also managed to commercialise football, citing Mpira TV.

On sponsorship, he said he won the corporate world’s confidence as evidenced by FDH Bank’s sponsorships for the Flames and FDH Bank Cup.

“We can also be proud to witness tremendous interest from other organisations such as Castel, Airtel and NBS Bank all of whom have generously sponsored cups and competitions for elite clubs,” Nyamilandu said.

 On corporate governance, he said FAM has become an organised institution, housed at Mpira Village,  complete with  offices, a hotel, recreation centre and a 5 000-capacity stadium.

But soccer analyst Patrick Zgambo said Nyamilandu has to convince Malawians what he will do once re-elected.

He said: “I would have really loved to hear more on that. Probably, this was just an announcement and he has four weeks to outline that. 

“Otherwise, this statement is more of a history lesson which is factual and we cannot dispute much about.”

Meanwhile, Central Region Football Association chairperson Austin Ajawa said they nominated Nyamilandu following his impressive implementation of his 2019 Raising the Bar manifesto.

He said: “We believe he has achieved most of the things he promised such as securing sponsorship for region and district leagues.

“We feel he still has more to offer the football fraternity. We don’t believe in removing someone from his position just because he has overstayed on a position. That is not a valid reason.

“What you should be asking is whether he is eligible. If he is, then there is no problem.”

Nyamilandu, who defeated his then first vice-president James Mwenda in 2019 elections, will face Super League of Malawi president Fleetwood Haiya.

Mwenda has been nominated for his old post and will face executive committee member Christopher Kuyeri.