Coaches in tight spot
Uncertainty surrounds the future of some Super League teams’coaches who do not possess the CAF B Licence which the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) will enforce as a minimum requirement starting next season.
Be Forward Wanderers and Nyasa Big Bullets coaches Elia Kananji and Mabvuto Lungu respectively do not appear on the FAM list of the B Licence holders. Red Lions mentor Pritchard Mwansa, Mafco’s Thomas Maloya and Kelvin Kuyewawa of the newly promoted Chilumba Barracks are also conspicuously missing.
Meanwhile, FAM technical director John Kaputa has asked all the affected teams to start hunting for qualified coaches before the season begins.
He said the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) set the B Licence requirement and that national associations endorsed it.
“We are not reversing our plans to enforce the resolution next season because we already alerted the clubs last season,” he said.
According to FAM, the list of CAF B Licence holders has 56 coaches, which Kaputa said clubs can choose from if their current coaches do not meet the requirements.
Reacting to the development, Kananji, while admitting not having the B Licence, said the decision was unfair because FAM has not been holding coaching courses.
“FAM rarely conducts such courses. So, where do they want us to get the licences? Should we dig them from the ground? It’s not fair at all,” he said.
Wanderers general secretary Mike Butao blamed FAM for “rushing with the implementation of the programme.” He could not state what the future holds for Kananji.
Bullets coach Lungu refused to comment, but the club’s team manager Rahim Ishmael confirmed that he does not have the B Licence.
He, however, said they will not decide on Lungu’s fate until he returns from a FAM approved Uefa coaching course which he is expected to attend in Germany next month.
“If he is successful then his qualification will be the same as B Licence which FAM is demanding. We just hope that he will do well there,” he said.
On his part, Red Lions coach Mwansa admitted not holding the B Licence, saying: “You know I am just launching my coaching career so I haven’t obtained that qualification.”
He said he was ready for any action which his employers will take regarding the matter.
Meanwhile, FAM says it expects to hold the B Licence course in September this year. This means the under-qualified coaches face a daunting task to keep their jobs as the Super League season kicks off in April before the course is conducted.
