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Eagles suffer blow

Blue Eagles have been dealt a blow after discovering that Flames midfielder Micium Mhone is not yet cleared by South Africa Football Association (Safa) and will miss the TNM Super League first round.

The player rejoined Blue Eagles after being released by South Africa’s lower league side Jomo Cosmos.

Cannot be registered: Mhone

However, the Malawi Police Service (MPS) side did not request for an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) from Safa.

The South Africa transfer window, which is synchronised with the international one, opened on January 3 and closed on January 31.

 

The local transfer window is not synchronised with the international transfer window.

It opened in January soon after the end of the season and closed on March 31.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) transfer matching system (TMS) manager Casper Jangale said following the closure of the transfer window, the player can only be cleared to play by Fifa.

“The transfer window closed long time ago. Mind you, though Mhone is a free agent, he is still registered in South Africa Football Association [Safa].

“He was supposed to be cleared when Jomo Cosmos released him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t and after joining Blue Eagles the club never bothered to request the clearance from Safa.

“At this point, it is only Fifa that can clear him to play. Normally, they only allow such clearance in specific cases; otherwise, he has to wait until July when the window reopens.”

The midfielder also failed to play for Malawi in Championship of African Nations (Chan) due to the same reason since the competition is for local players only.

Mhone was not available for comment, but Blue Eagles general secretary Ulemu Kalua said the player is in the predicament due to a breakdown in communication.

“However, we have asked the FAM TMS manager to seek the special clearance from Fifa. We are just keeping fingers crossed that he should be cleared. Otherwise, it is a big blow,” he said.

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