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FAM extends requirement to assistant coaches

The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has disclosed that the Club Licencing System (CLS) requires that all Super League teams must employ coaches with a minimum of a CAF B Licence must also apply to their assistants.

The soccer governing body’s stand comes after most teams demoted their coaches that did not have the required minimum qualifications which are set for enforcement in the upcoming season.

Jangale: Timing is wrong
Jangale: Timing is wrong

Among the clubs is Nyasa Big Bullets which has demoted CAF C Licence holder head coach MabvutoLungu to assistant coach. Be Forward Wanderers has also temporarily demoted Elia Kananji to be assistant coach after failing to meet the requirements.

FAM president Walter Nyamilandu, speaking during the Extraordinary annual general meeting, said sparing the assistant coaches from the rules will not be in line with the standards they are setting.

“It doesn’t make sense to have an assistant coach who is not meeting the club licencing requirements. An assistant [coach] automatically replaces the coach in his absence so he too must also have the CAF B Licence. We are not ready to lower the standards,” he said.

Nyamilandu said the coaching reforms would encourage players aspiring to be coaches to attain high academic qualification which would aid them to enrol in coaching courses without difficulties.

“We have a problem whereby some former players want to become coaches but they don’t a good education background and it becomes a big problem for them to be enrolled in the coaching courses,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bullets vice-general secretary Kelvin Moyo said they would not make any changes to their technical setup until they have received official communication from FAM.

“It’s difficult to comment on an issue that has no documentation, unlike the qualifications of the head coach which we were informed,” he said.

Moyo, however, spotted discrepancies in the club licencing system wondering why it doesn’t set high qualification for the technical directors, who are the heads of the technical panel.

“How do you put specifications on the assistant coaches and nothing is being said on the technical directors who lead coaching teams. Not all teams have TDs but they must also be highly qualified,” he said.

In a related development, FAM has handed out certificates to 27 coaches who last year successfully underwent a CAF A Licence, which is one of the highest coaching badges in the world.

Speaking at the certificates presentation in Blantyre on Saturday, Nyamilandu said all those who attended the training passed, a development he described as encouraging.

The coaches included Civo United coach Milias Pofera Jegwe and Malawi national women football team assistant coach Maggie Chombo.

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