Relief for handsome old man

Having scanned through resolutions of last week’s FAM annual general meeting (AGM), the passionate critic in me wanted to bash some of the agreed targets such as hiring Flames’ coach by January 2014.

All along, we were made to believe the purse for such a post would only be opened mid next year at the expiry of the tenure of redeployed Kinnah Phiri-led coaching panel.

And the fact that government is not appearing in the picture begs some questions as to whether this is mere FAM wishful thinking.

And then came the target to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, which to me, seems jumping steps.

It is unrealistic hoping to win the CAF Champions League when you can’t clinch the TNM Super League title.

FAM and its meagre resources should be modest and aim at winning Cosafa Cup.

But in this entry, I choose to dwell on the positives from the AGM such as giving awards to refereeing great Bester Kalombo, veteran administrator Steven Zimba, trail-blazing coach Kinnah Phiri and FAM founding president Sydney Dawson Chikafa.

I was particularly more relieved that the old but handsome Mr. Chikafa was, after having done stories about him, finally recognised.

There is no better pay in journalism than seeing justice being delivered—this is what I shall miss most when that day to call it time shall inevitably come.

“I thought I had been forgotten. I shall depart a happy man,” the father to late Patrick ‘Bulldozer’ Chikafa said when visited on Tuesday at his Ndirande Township home.

For a start, this is a good gesture. It pays to make peace with your past if you want to confront the future.

One of the reasons, Malawi football has remained malnourished is due to its failure to build on its past. Every FAM, Sulom and club regime starts from scratch—no carry over lessons from the past nor handovers.

But like most domestic football projects, sustaining the awards is a big challenge. Nonetheless, FAM deserves a rare drink on me for doing the right thing.