Is technical director’s office functional?

As the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) technical director and Flames’ adviser, Jack ‘Africa’ Chamangwana is supposed to be the busiest football man in charge of all domestic football technical matters.

 

But as was the case with his predecessor Eddington Ngonamo, lack of adequate funding means Chamangwana rarely runs football programmes.

It might sound harsh to the quiet gentleman, but his presence is only felt when he offers from airports lifts to players and FAM guests, watching training and overseeing coaching courses. This is increasingly rendering his otherwise high football office ceremonial as his lined-up programmes gather dust waiting for funding.

“If I were to rate the activities, I am able to implement every year, I would say only 40 percent. My activities are funded under the FAP [Fifa’s Financial Assistance Programme]. For the other programmes, there is nothing I can do if there are no resources,” said the former national team coach.

Chamangwana, who is among few Malawi coaching exports, having turned Tanzania’s Yanga FC’s fortunes, refused to be classfied as inactive, “as, for example, last year, I conducted some four or five coaching courses”.

“I am involved in a lot of grass-roots football programmes in centres such as Chigumula and Ndirande townships. We have also opened mobile football academies. As for the senior teams, including the Flames, my role is to offer advice. It is up to the coaches to take the advice,” said the former MTL Wanderers captain and coach.

All things being equal, Chamangwana is supposed to be the boss of all national team coaches. He is also supposed to train Super League, Premier Division and Division One coaches. His other roles is to oversee the grading of coaches, ensuring that unqualified ones do not take charges of teams. But, still some Super League teams are run by unqualified personnel.

Chamangwana is supposed to get involved in talent identification. He is expected to lay grass-roots football structures, develop a data base for up-and-coming players. He is also supposed to ensure that all coaches follow a particular football philosophy suited to Malawi conditions.

FAM chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda on Tuesday admitted that Chamangwana’s operations, especially involving travelling, were being hindered by lack of a motor vehicle, which has since been provided.

“He has an office and it is functional. He is involved in grass-roots programmes including Fifa’s 11 for Health. Jack was also involved in the women football team,” Nyirenda said defending FAM’s hiring of David Dube as the women team technical adviser due to the fact that the women’s game “has its own psychology, which Dube understands”.

Francesco Bruscoli, Fifa manager in charge of development programmes in Africa, was recently quoted by Xinhua as urguing football associations to set periodic targets for their technical directors to implement programmes and ensure their sustainability.

“The technical directors of national associations should be given at least a four-year mandate on contractual basis. This is not a commitment but rather an obligation and we hope for those associations who are not practising this at the moment, make it a must to start immediately,” Bruscoli said in Ghana last October during a seminar for general secretaries and technical directors of 17 African football associations.