Disbanding Blantyre Utd owe players K3m

Relegated Blantyre United, who already announced that they will disband at the end of the season, owe players over K3 million in game bonuses and allowances.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) club licensing manager Casper Jangale has since admitted they are facing hurdles to enforce club licensing requirements which are meant to avoid the Blantyre United’s case.

Jangale said: “The latest case has given us food for thought that there is a need to tighten our screws in all the five club licensing criteria [sporting, infrastructure, personnel & administration, legal and financial]”

He, however, said they will need to take a new approach to curb this growing tendency because the K1 million surety they introduced at the start of this season is only meant to ensure clubs fulfill all their fixtures in the Super League.

Last season, a similar ensured when Max Bullets pulled out of the Super League and dumped its players. Although the players tried to complain to FAM, the case yielded nothing.

Blantyre United general secretary Malekano Chisoma said there is no guarantee that the dues will be settled once the outfit disbands at the end of the season.

“The main focus at present is on how we will find funding to fulfill our two remaining Super League games. We will sit down at the end of the season to see how we will sort out the problem.”

He said the situation has been worsened by the the resignation of six of the club’s nine executive committee members, including the owner and financier Lawson Nakoma.

Now, the committee only comprises Chisoma, administration manager Anthony Kafuwa and member Patrick Kundinga.

Nakoma said he is not responsible for the players’ outstanding dues as the sum was incurred after he stepped down.

United coach McDonald Mtetemera and captain Yamikani Tambala said they are keeping their fingers crossed that everything will be alright at the end of the season.

“We only agreed to complete the games,” said Mtetemera. n