Sports council faces criticism
Malawi National Council of Sports has come under fire over its newly introduced guidelines for sports associations as Football Association of Malawi (FAM) says the move is tantamount to government interference in sports.
Sports Council unveiled the guidelines last week which among others, limit the term of office for elected positions to two terms and a president’s academic qualification to a bachelors’ degree.
But in an interview yesterday, FAM president Walter Nyamilandu said the guidelines are not in line with world football governing body, Fifa, which puts a maximum of three terms of office and no academic qualifications.
He accused Sports Council of failing to consult associations when coming up with the guidelines.
Said Nyamilandu: “It’s tantamount to interference. How do they expect members to adopt the guidelines when they haven’t been consulted in this day and era of democratic dispensation? Such autocratic and draconian tendencies are archaic and not healthy.”
“As FAM, we are guided by our statutes which are approved by our affiliates and ratified by Fifa. Fifa doesn’t specify minimum qualification as criteria of executive members and the tenure is a maximum of three terms with duration of four years.”
But outgoing Sports Council board chairperson Sunduzwayo Madise, a lawyer, says the guidelines are non-negotiable and that all associations should have their constitutions aligned to them within six months in order to promote good sports management and administration.
He said: “Fifa says the limit is at three terms, we are saying for Malawi sports associations, it should be maximum of two terms.
“That’s not in conflict with Fifa. Fifa has set the maximum and our guidelines are within that maximum.
“If we had said it should be at four terms or more, then it could have been a different story. Let me be clear on this. These guidelines are non-negotiable.”
On the academic qualification, Madise said Sports Council wants only those that are capable of understanding the dynamics of modern sports management in leadership positions.
He said: “We want leaders in associations to be able to produce strategic plans, audited accounts, among others things.
“We feel with the challenges we have been facing in our sports associations, a person with a degree can manage to do that.”
Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) president Abigail Shariff said the issue of the guidelines will be discussed at their next annual general meeting.
“As for the term of office, we are within the timeframe set as our constitution stipulates a maximum of two terms,” she said.
In an earlier interview, Chess Association of Malawi president Susan Namangale said while the gudelines are good as they provide direction on how associations are supposed to be run, the associations should have been consulted.
She said: “Associations only heard about the guidelines during the sports conference last week.
“So, you cannot develop guidelines without involving stakeholders who are key to implementing the same. Associations needed to be part of the formulation process.
The guidelines read in part: “All elected office bearers shall hold office for a maximum of two terms provided that at the commencement of these guidelines, any term not served in full shall be regarded as a first term.”
