Silver Strikers face a $3 000 (about K2.46 million) for withdrawing from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederations Cup.
Part of the rules and regulations of CAF inter-club tournaments, read: “A withdrawal reported after the engagement and before the establishment of the fixtures leads to the loss of the engaged club with an imposed fine of $3 000.”
Football Association of Malawi licensing and compliance manager Casper Jangale yesterday said the Central Bankers will also be fined separately by the association.
He said: “There is a lot that goes into processing a club’s registration in such tournaments and, therefore, apart from being fined by CAF, we will also impose a fine on them.”
But Jangale said Silver will not be suspended from the continental tournaments because they have withdrawn before the draw.
Silver announced their withdrawal from the tournament through a press release issued yesterday, saying their head coach Daniel Kabwe does not have the required CAF A license.
Reads the statement in part: “Silver Strikers FC would like to inform its supporters and the general public on its decision to withdraw from the CAF Confederations Cup.
“CAF set CAF A licence as a basic mandatory requirement for all head coaches and CAF B licence for assistant coaches in the 2021/22 CAF inter-club competitions. Those who do not fulfill the requirement would not be allowed to be on the technical bench during matches.
“To conform to the requirements, Mr. McDonald Mtetemera was registered as head coach since he holds a CAF A licence and Mr. Daniel Kabwe, who holds a CAF B licence and Uefa B licence, as his deputy.”
The club further states that following Mtetemera’s recent suspension pending investigations, his availability cannot be guaranteed.
The press release signed by the club’s chief executive officer Thoko Chimbali, further reads: “Following the unforeseeable events surrounding our technical panel, it is with deep regret that the club’s board of directors has advised that the team withdraws from the tournament forthwith.
“We have made the decision having taken into account different options and their consequential events and the decision now outweighs the consequences.”
The Central Bankers’ decision comes days after the board reversed its decision to fire the entire coaching panel for failing to meet targets.
Initially, Blue Eagles were supposed to take part in the CAF Confederation Cup by virtue of being Fisd Challenge Cup winners which was a national cup, but withdrew their interest due to financial constraints.
The offer was then extended to Silver by virtue of being Airtel Top 8 champions.
