Sulom rebuffs Big Bullets on Lufeyo

The Super League of Malawi (Sulom) has rebuffed Big Bullets’ attempt to recall their midfielder Jelesi Lufeyo currently on loan at Epac FC, saying the existing regulations for a loan deal is one year.

Sulom general secretary Williams Banda was responding to a question whether it is possible for Bullets to recall the player who has struck a rich vein of form at the Lilongwe club.

This comes after Bullets general secretary Higger Mkandawire yesterday said the team’s executive had agreed to recall Lufeyo and striker Godfrey Masondo in a bid to turn around the fortunes after a poor second-round start that has seen them fail to register a win, let alone a goal so far.

Said Mkandawire: “Following the meeting we had with the technical panel, we have agreed to recall the two players whom we feel can help turn around the fortunes.”

He claimed that Lufeyo was loaned to Epac until the end of the first-round while Masondo is a free agent as his contract with a lower league Mozambican club was terminated recently.

The Bullets GS also said the meeting with the players was set for last evening.

However, Banda said if Bullets want to recall Lufeyo, then they will have to wait until the end of the season.

“The existing regulations for loan is one year. The loaned player can only revert during window period which according to this season was closed on September 27,” said Banda.

Reacting to Banda’s claims, Mkandawire said: “That is surprising because when we copied them [Sulom] the letter pertaining to the loan agreement, they did not raise the issue of loan regulation. As clubs, we agreed that the loan would be until the end of the first-round, so Sulom have no basis for their claims.

“In fact, we are pursuing the issue further with Sulom and they have advised us to put it in writing, which we will do.”

Epac general secretary Roy Mdechi earlier claimed that the loan agreement with Bullets was for the whole season.

When called for further clarification, Mdechi denied there being   a written agreement as claimed by Mkandawire, but he could not be reached on his phone a minute later, when The Nation wanted to find out how it happened that they started featuring the player without an agreement with Bullets.

In his earlier response, Mdechi said Epac suspect that Bullets have a hidden motive because Bullets refused them to sign defender Pilirani Zonda.

“It is a way of evening the score, but the player [Lufeyo] has made it clear to us that he does not want to return to Bullets. You can even speak to him,” said Mdechi.

Mkandawire confirmed approaching Epac on Zonda, but insisted that Lufeyo’s loan deal was for half a season.

“The initial plan was to swap Lufeyo with Zonda, but when Epac refused, we agreed on a half-season loan agreement,” said Mkandawire, who promised to send the correspondence between the two clubs, but had not done so till press time.

Lufeyo yesterday said he was yet to come up with a position on the way forward.