Sulom backtracks
Super League of Malawi (Sulom) has backtracked on its decision for teams to play one game per week effective this season after teams complained that it was costly.
The protests forced Sulom, which released the first-round fixtures with each team given one game per week, to change with effect from this weekend.
Sulom president Tiya Somba Banda and general secretary Williams Banda, who are the association’s official spokespersons, could not be reached.
However, Sulom treasurer Malinda Chinyama confirmed the changes on Monday in an interview, saying it was done after taking into consideration clubs’ concerns.
He said: “After consultation, we decided to respect the teams’ concerns because they said due to effects of Covid-19, they are operating at a loss. Even playing two games a week away it is still expensive. That’s why the changes have been made.”
Chinyama said this was a temporal relief as the one-game per week will be implemented in line with Fifa standards and practice.
“When things normalise, this will be enforced because teams cannot insist that they cannot travel, for example, from Blantyre to Karonga to play one game,” he said.
In an interview on Monday, Mighty Wanderers board secretary Humphrey Mvula welcomed the decision, saying Sulom did not consult.
He said: “The truth is that it is expensive to go to Karonga for one game, taking into consideration financial implications on the part of the travelling team. A Fifa requirement that teams should play one game per week, will not stand the test of financial implications of our clubs.
“That arrangement was unsustainable. This is one of the issues which should have been resolved during an annual general meeting. Now it has boom-ranged.”
Civo United general secretary Ronald Chiwaula said clubs rejected the decision for teams to play one game per week because of financial problems.
Reacting to the changes, football analyst Charles Nyirenda, who is former Football Association of Malawi general secretary, bemoaned Sulom’s move to reverse the decision.
“It means we are doing things our own retrogressive way and it will be like this until someone realises that in professional football, what we are doing is not encouraged,” he said.
Another analyst, Kevin Moyo, said: “Initially, the plan to play one fixture per week and to curtail fixtures during international break, was progressive and up to set international standards.
“One fixture per week will give players time to recover and prolong their playing careers and performance. And by not playing on Fifa-sanctioned week limits match-fixing. Why sulom has reverted to its old philosophy is surprising.”
The 2021/22 TNM Super League started last week with teams playing one game.
