Editors PickNational Sports

Risky stand-off

National Women Football Association (NWFA) fears losing sponsorship of Fifa/FAM Women Football Championship due to teams’ continued boycott of this year’s competition.

NWFA chairperson Severia Chalira has since pleaded with teams to rescind their decision to boycott and start playing the games under protest as they wait for the local women soccer body to address their concerns.

Malawi women’s football team

However, the clubs have refused to heed their mother body’s advice until their issues are thoroughly addressed.

The competition was expected to kick off on April 28 but the clubs, in all the country’s three regions, are yet to start fulfilling their fixtures, arguing they would only play if the K500 000 winners’ prize for regional champions, which has remained unchanged for at least five years, is increased to match their expenditure in the competition.

They also demand that the NWFA constitution be reviewed to allow clubs, and not district committees, have voting rights at the body’s elections.

In addition, Central Region Women Football Association (CRWFA) teams would like to see their regional elections, which were controversially cancelled at the 11th hour on April 24, conducted before the games “because the cancellation was not done in good faith”.

The completion period for Fifa/Football Association of Malawi (FAM) championship is four months and with a month already wasted, the continued stand-off is a big threat to the fulfilment of the competition’s calendar.

Chalira yesterday said addressing the clubs’ concerns would require a lot of time and, as such, the continued boycott of games would affect their calendar and have a negative impact on the report the NWFA would be required to send to the world football governing body, Fifa, at the end of the competition’s period.

“We ask the clubs to start playing the games under protest as we try to address their concerns because time is not on our side. Should we fail to address the issues at the start of the second round, then they can resume the boycott,” she said.

“We are supposed to wind up the competition by October and any further delay would have a negative effect on Fifa sponsorship because they would withdraw financial backing and decide not to come back next year if they see that this year’s tournament has not taken place.”

According to Chalira, a committee has already been set up to draft the statutes that will be sent to the clubs for scrutiny within the next two months “and, therefore, no need for clubs to continue with the boycott when their concerns have already started being addressed”.

She said NWFA would soon have consultative meetings with the clubs to map the way forward.

Nevertheless, representatives of the clubs Charles Mwenda and Isaac Jomo Osman, who are respective owners of Lilongwe-based Skippers FC and Blantyre-based Ntopwa Super Queens, believe their concerns would remain unresolved if they begin to play the games.

“We have agreed to stick to our guns until our concerns are addressed and we cannot be intimidated,” Mwenda said.

Meanwhile, the clubs are today expected to submit their individual petitions to Football Association of Malawi (FAM) after the NWFA told the clubs to present their concerns on individual basis and not as groups.

Fifa/FAM championship played a big role in producing the country’s women football exports such as China-based Tabitha Chawinga, Austria-based Chisomo Kadzisonga and Sweden-based duo Temwa Chawinga and Sabina Thom.

Related Articles

Back to top button