Ntopwa battered
TNM Super League table anchors Ntopwa FC coach Karen Chaula says she won’t give up on escaping relegation despite the Amagheto Kids losing 14 of their last 15 matches.
The Bangwe Township-based side is at the bottom of the 16-team top-flight league with 15 points from 23 matches.
Chaula, the first and only female coach in the Super League, is yet to register a win, having lost seven and drawn one since being roped in as head coach at the start of the second round.
She said: “As it stands, the situation on the ground is not good, but I won’t give up.
“I would say our survival chances are 50-50 and it depends on how we will fare in the remaining seven matches. The Super League is a marathon, it is do-or-die. So, let us wait and see.”
Chaula attributed the team’s woes to lack of motivation.
“The players are not motivated, that is the biggest problem. I found the situation as it is and to turn it around appears a big challenge.
“It is something that is beyond my control,” said the coach.
On whether she is under pressure, Chaula said: “Pressure is always there and I cannot run away from that fact, but I need to take the challenge head on.”
She also said she does not regret taking up the task.
In a separate interview, club owner and technical director Isaac Jomo Osman admitted that it will take something special for his team to survive relegation.
He said: “To be honest, it doesn’t look good. The team is where it is because of financial constraints as I can no longer afford to pay the players.
“Since my main source of income was halted, it has been tough to sponsor the club. Pa ground sipali bwino [the economic situation is tough].
“That the players are still committed to the club is because of their passion for football as well as their understanding to the situation that I am going through.”
Ntopwa players have not been paid their salaries since they got Covid-19 upkeeps from Football Association of Malawi six months ago.
Meanwhile, football analyst George Kaudza Masina yesterday said as the situation stands, it will be a miracle for Ntopwa to survive relegation.
He said: “Looking at the performance of Ntopwa FC, the writing is on the wall that Thumbs Up League is calling them as a potential candidate come next season.
“The team started very well in the first round, but their performance has been nose diving mainly due to luck of motivation.
“It is on record that Ntopwa has not been paying its players and the technical panel and you can’t expect anything good from players who are demotivated to the core.
“Running a Super League club is not chicken business as it is demanding and the source of finances has to be definite unlike depending on well-wishers.
“People like Jomo Osman have the passion for the game, but going it alone will just make him more poorer than he was before joining the Super League as there are no tangible benefits in participating in our so called elite league.”
