Flames legends bang heads on state of football

A group of Flames’ former players has organised a meeting this Saturday at Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe to find solutions to the “deteriorating soccer standards in the country”.

The group’s chairperson and former Flames goalkeeper, Boniface Maganga, said the ‘State of Malawi Football’ gathering, which will also comprise other former Flames stars such as Peterkins Kayira, Lawrence Waya, Kinnah Phiri and Kennedy Malunga, will help to find ways to take Malawi football to greater heights.

“Years are passing but our football standards are not improving. We are losing games to national teams that had not beaten us before. What can we do to make sure the standards do not move from bad to worse? We will find the answers during the meeting,” he said.

When asked if they have approached Football Association of Malawi (FAM) on their impending meeting, Maganga said: “We would have loved to do so, but FAM sidelines the country’s soccer legends in everything they do.”

According to Kayira, the gathering will give local football administrators guidelines on how to run the sport in a professional manner.

“We are not trying to compete against football administrators, but we would like to give them direction on how to run our football,” he said.

The grouping has since appealed for assistance with costs of the venue during the meeting, saying those willing to assist can contact Kayira on 0999 917 104 or Maganga on 0888 855 979 or deposit into Maganga’s FDH Bank account number 145000007131.

FAM president Walter Nyamilandu described the meeting as having a hidden agenda.

“We have heard about this clandestine meeting which has a hidden agenda. As far as we are concerned, FAM doesn’t recognise the gathering,” he said. n