Bullets in Nyasa buy out debate
Some Big Bullets supporters want their newly-found sponsors Nyasa Manufacturing Company (NMC) to buy out the club as one way of ending internal wrangles, Weekend Nation can reveal.
The suggestion was pitched to NMC during the emergency meeting held in Blantyre on Monday and the sponsors asked Bullets to make a formal offer.
“It was observed that the origin of the problems is members’ lack of knowledge on their ToRs [terms of reference] in the board and a suggestion was put for NMC to buy out the club which could put the infighting to a stop,” the minutes reads in part.
“The chairman, [Conrad Buckle], asked the trustees, executive committee and supporters to make a formal presentation if Nyasa is to give it a serious consideration.”
Bullets vice-general secretary Kelvin Moyo, speaking in his own capacity, said the buy out was for the best of the team.
“You and I need to assist the club to have a proper procedure to sell the team so that it can be on the stock market after it posts profit for supporters to buy shares. It’s called normalisation” he said.
Bullets is currently operating under Trustees Incorporation Act. However, three other entities— Bullets Holdings Limited, Cifu Investiments and Big Bullets FC— also claim ownership of the club under the Incorporated Companies Act.
But Moyo said the other entities do not legally exist.
“Actually, they can be de-registered for not submitting returns. Remember, they are limited companies.
“If Big Bullets is sold it will be a genesis of better things to come in terms of football administration,” Moyo said.
But Bullets trustees’ secretary Jim Kalua said a buy out was out of question.
He said: “That would be defeating the whole purpose of Bullets’ existence. Bullets is owned by registered supporters. May be what would be applicable is to register it as a company so that supporters can buy shares. Nyasa then can also buy shares. I even clarified this issue to supporters that there is no way we can sell Bullets.”
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) club licensing manager Casper Jangale noted that there was need for overhaul of the club’s legal status.
“Bullets is a community team under trusteeship. But I think for a community club to be recognised as such, supporters have to create a supporters’ trust,” he said.
