Super League of Malawi (Sulom) says it is not obliged to compensate clubs for the postponed kick-off of the 2020 TNM Super League following the declaration of State of Disaster due to coronavirus by President Peter Mutharika.
Sulom lined up nine fixtures across the country for the first week of the season, but they were postponed soon after the President’s declaration at 6pm on Friday which banned public gatherings of over 100 people, including sporting activity.
But by then, Ntopwa FC who were facing TN Stars at Lilongwe while Blue Eagles who were playing Nyasa Big Bullets in the re-launch match at Kamuzyu Stadium were camped in Blantyre.Civo Stadium were already in
Asked if Sulom will compensate the clubs, general secretary Williams Banda ruled out any possibility of that happening.
“Sulom is not responsible for the postponement of the kick-off. It is State of Disaster declaration and this falls under ‘force majeure’,” he said.
According to Sulom constitution Article 58 and, Super League rules and regulations, the league runners may postpone the games due to unforeseen circumstances, such as force majeure.
Ntopwa FC technical director and patron Isaac Jomo Osman said they had spent a fortune in preparation for the match, transport, accommodation and players’ allowances.
“Moti panopa mutu wazungulira ndi momwe zachitikilamu [I am confused with which has happened],” lamented Osman.
Blue Eagles chairperson Alexander Nangwale said in an interview with Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) that his club understood the situation that forced Sulom to postpone the kick-off.
He, however, refused to comment on whether they will seek compensation from the league runners, but said the Malawi Police Service (MPS) outfit would wait for Sulom’s direction on the way forward.
However, football analyst Kim Kamau blamed Sulom for failing to take heed of advice to postpone the kick-off until at the eleventh hour.
“The whole week people had been pleading with Sulom to postpone kick-off just as our colleagues have done in other countries, but Sulom didn’t want to listen. If Sulom had listened clubs would not have spent a lot of money travelling to fulfil matches,” he said.
