National Sports

Civo finally get Epac’s slot

A done deal. After weeks of speculation, Epac FC have handed fallen capital city giants Civil Service (Civo) United a lifeline to stay put in the Super League.

And it all came from the horse’s mouth—Epac patron and owner Dini Josaya Banda—who confirmed yesterday that after lengthy negotiations that seemed to be headed for a listless conclusion, the two teams have agreed to swap ranks.

Josaya Banda told Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) yesterday that: “After weeks of speculations, I can confirm that we have swapped ranks with Civo following discussions that we have had.

We have not sold our franchise so to say, but we have only swapped ranks. This means we will take Civo’s Central Region Football League (CRFL) Premier Division. What remains now is to agree on some modalities on which players and officials from Epac will join Civo.”

He also vowed that Epac will bounce back to the Super League, saying: “Our fans should not worry, we will be back.”.

Asked what prompted them to come up with such a decision, Josaya Banda who once served as Civo vice-chairperson said: “Civo is a big team with a rich history and it was sad to see them being relegated. It would have been embarrassing to see them playing in the lower league.

Civo vice-general secretary Ronald Chiwaula also confirmed the development, saying: “We will issue a statement explaining the nitty-gritty of the agreement because whoever pays tax is supposed to know since this club is sponsored by government.”

Super League of Malawi (Sulom) vice-general secretary Major Thokozani Chazema said their expectations are that both teams will officially communicate to them in good time so that they can look at the legality of the process.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) club licensing manager Casper Jangale also said Epac and Civo need to inform the association through Sulom about the development.

“But this means  that Civo will be required to meet all the club licencing conditions and we will not grant them grace period.

“Since Epac failed to submit club licensing documents in time, Civo will have to pay the K100 000 appeal fee plus K150 000 application fee and K1 million surety,” said Jangale. n

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