Civo leads in LL Declaration implementation
Lilongwe football pride, Civo United, are quietly implementing the famous but often ignored Lilongwe Declaration which is a plan for Malawi football development.
Having set up a secretariat, stadium office, put their players on contracts, put checks for corporate governance, the civil servants have gone a step ahead to establish a youth side, Civo general secretary Rashid Ntelela confirmed on Wednesday.
“Most clubs go to meetings, but do not implement the resolutions, so we thought we should be exemplary and implement what we can manage,” Ntelela explained about the declaration clubs agreed in 2008 in Lilongwe after Fifa recommendations.
James Chimphepo, former international midfielder for Mitco and MDC United, is coaching Civo Youth side which has so far played four games in the Chipiku Central Region Football League’s Division One.
Ntelela said Civo Youth is the reincarnation of their reserve side of the 1980s that used to be called Boma Stars before it died a natural death.
Super League of Malawi (Sulom) general secretary Williams Banda on Wednesday hailed Civo for complying with the resolutions.
“We have not done an assessment in terms of compliance with the declaration, but most of the teams such as Mponela United, Epac, Mighty Wanderers, Blue Eagles and the Army clubs have youth teams and this is commendable,” Banda said yesterday.
On putting players on contracts, he said clubs were also moving in the right direction with the likes of Blantyre United, Evirom, Kamuzu Barracks, Mponela and Epac also signing players on the dotted lines.
