Moyale, Silver protest at Carlsberg Cup venues

Moyale FC have threatened to boycott Sunday’s Carlsberg Cup quarter-final match against Mighty Be Forward Wanderers scheduled for Sunday if Football Association of Malawi (FAM) does not rescind its decision to have the match played at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.

Silver Strikers have also protested against FAM’s decision to schedule their game against Big Bullets on Saturday at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.

Both Moyale and Silver claim that being the home teams, they are supposed to host the Nomads and Bullets in Mzuzu and Lilongwe respectively.

Part of the protest letter from Moyale signed by general secretary lieutenant Precious Gausi reads: “We believe every competition in football is based on principles of fairness, sportsmanship and entertainment apart from marketing policy of the sponsors. We have come to realise it has been your intention throughout this competition to deliberately frustrate Moyale FC by scheduling all our games away from both our home ground and our fans/supporters who you are well aware that they are in Mzuzu.

“In conclusion, we want to categorically state that the venue be changed from Civo to Mzuzu Stadium to enable our fans/supporters and Carlsberg Malawi customers in the Northern Region to watch their team.”

The Lions of Kaning’ina also state that this year’s competition “has been a classic example of poor management, a supposed reflection of the current FAM administration which fails to see obvious unwelcome politics in football.

“Of course, as per your mediocre explanation, Civo Stadium is a neutral venue for Moyale FC and Be Forward Wanderers FC. What of Big Bullets FC playing Silver Strikers FC at Kamuzu Stadium? Is this a neutral venue?”

Asked what they will do should FAM stick to its guns, Gausi said: “We are yet to get FAM’s response, but our letter is self-explanatory.”

However, FAM competitions manager Gomezgani Zakazaka on Thursday played down Moyale’s threat, saying according to the rules of the competition, from the semi-final stage venues are determined by the organisers in liaison with the sponsor—Carlsberg Malawi.

“We are in receipt of Moyale’s protest letter which has since been referred to the organising committee. But what I can say is that they have craftily ignored the rules governing the competition which give the organising committee powers to determine the venue.

“The rules are clear that when the tournament reaches this stage, not only is it the discretion of the organising committee to allocate the venues but the sponsors also have a big say because it is used as a platform to promote their brand,” said Zakazaka.

The FAM competitions manager said to that effect, Carlsberg Malawi suggested that the semi-final matches be played in Blantyre and Lilongwe.

On Thursday, Silver’s acting GS Fred Kalonga said they were also finalising their protest letter.

“Much as we appreciate Article 8.1 of the competition’s rules, it creates inconvenience because we were planning on hosting the match as per the fixture. We will complain in the strongest terms.

“We might go to Blantyre to play the match, but it will be under protest. So, we are pursuing the issue,” said Kalonga.

According to Article 8.1 of the competition’s rules, “the venues of the competition shall be determined by the organising committee as per the draw that will be conducted.”

It further states that all games shall be played at venues approved by the organising committee.