National Sports

Nomads to seek financial help from APM

Be Forward Wanderers say they will take advantage of the unveiling of stadia project ceremony to seek President Peter Mutharika’s assistance towards their financial constraints, in particular their swelling debts.

Nomads’ general secretary Victor Maunde on Wednesday said the function, which has been shifted from today to Saturday, provides them with an ideal platform to directly seek the President’s intervention.

He said: “We have debts which we are struggling to settle and they are accumulating interest.

“Besides that, the future of our [Be Forward Limited] sponsorship appears uncertain. So, we will ask the President to consider helping us.

“We do not necessarily expect the help to come from government, rather we believe that because of the President’s influence, he can help us through other ways.”

However, the move could be a follow-up to the club’s request to government for financial assistance towards settling debts incurred from their 2018 CAF Champions League participation.

In a letter addressed to the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Joseph Mwanamvekha and his Youth, Sports and Culture colleague Francis Phiso dated March 25 2020, which The Nation has seen, the Nomads asked for financial assistance amounting to K59 225 000 towards settling the debt.

Part of the letter, signed by club chairperson Symon Sikwese, reads: “We ask for a further K15 million to help us revamp commercialisation projects.

“Our sponsors and partners in Japan are not happy with the debt situation and the legal cases. They had demanded that we resolve all the legal issues before we can sit down to discuss the 2020 sponsorship. Delays in resolving these issues would result in us losing the sponsorship altogether.”

Reacting to the request, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture Chancy Simwaka said: “As government, we do not comment on issues to do with private companies. If anything, the onus is on the club to comment.”

Football analyst George Kaudza Masina says Wanderers’ move to seek the President and government’s help, only shows that they do not have a strategic plan to guide their operations.

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