Malawi national football team captain John ‘CJ’ Banda has warned against resumption of football when the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is not under control.
The Mozambican-based UD Songo midfielder said there could be far-reaching consequences if Malawi rushes to restart playing football when the virus is still spreading after the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases reached 57 on Monday.
Banda said: “As Flames captain, my plea is that we should wait until the pandemic is under control.
“Let’s not get carried away with others who are defying the ban on gathering of over 100 people.
“Football should only be introduced when it is safe to do so both for players and the supporters.”
His sentiments come after some supporters asked Football Association of Malawi (FAM) to consider resuming football following political parties’ defiance on the government ban of sporting activities.
The association’s president Walter Nyamilandu has already indicated that it will not be swayed by the section of the football supporters to lift suspension.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Ahmad Ahmad on Monday also said he wants the outbreak under control first before football competitions return.
“We must wait. As CAF president, I invite everyone to be very careful and wait for the situation to normalise.
“But beyond that, I do not want football to be a source of destabilisation for the precautionary measures taken by the various governments to deal with the pandemic,” he said.
Meanwhile, Banda has asked football players to continue personal training.
“We are not sure when football will resume. So, it is better to keep on training at home that when football resumes we should not be caught by surprise,” he said.
