Teams ‘snub’ CAF tourney
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) says no team has shown interest to join the CAF Confederation Cup after extending an invitation to the rest of the TNM Super League clubs.
The association cast the net wider after Silver Strikers and Mighty Mukuru Wanderers said they will not take part in the continental showpiece.
FAM club licensing and compliance manager Casper Jangale said in an interview that by cut-off point on June 14, none of the 13 other clubs showed interest.
“This means that once again, we will only have [FCB Nyasa] Bullets taking part in a CAF inter-club tournament,” he said.
Jangale further said Bullets have completed their Confederation of African Football (CAF) club licensing process and the FAM First Instant Body will meet this Saturday to determine whether to grant them a licence to participate in the CAF Champions League.
“Otherwise, they have provided all the information that is required,” he said.
Bullets chief administration officer Albert Chigoga in an interview confirmed completing the paperwork, saying: “We completed the process on Friday though the deadline is 30th June.”
Mighty Wakawawaka Tigers director Robin Alufandika said competing in a CAF tournament requires planning and a sound financial muscle.
“I am not sure about other teams, but as for Tigers we could not join because we were simply not ready. It requires that you have a strong team with sound financial back up,” he said.
Silver Strikers, who were the first team to be offered a chance to take part in the Confederation Cup after finishing as TNM Super League runners-up last season, were the first to announce that they would not do so because they won nothing.
The club’s chief executive officer Patrick Chimimba said: “Participation in such elite tournaments is supposed to be earned. We won nothing last season and it wouldn’t be good at all for us to participate on the basis of coming second.”
Mighty Mukuru Wanderers, who finished third, said based on their performance between the start of the 2024 season and the registration period, they felt they were not ready for the inter-club tournament.
The club’s president and board chairperson Thomson Mpinganjira said: “It won’t happen, definitely not this year. There is a lot that needs to be done to stabilize the team, the present level is very disappointing.”
