Super League to kick off May

The Super League of Malawi (Sulom) president Innocent Bottoman has said the flagship league will kick off next month.

Initially, the domestic top-flight league was scheduled to start next weekend, but was suspended indefinitely due to the move by TNM to withdraw its sponsorship about a fortnight ago.

“I will not comment much on the issue of sponsorship, suffice to say there are some logistics that we are working on behind the scenes and I have all the hope that everything will be in order by May.

“As at now, nothing has changed, the kick off is still suspended as communicated by the GS [general secretary], but by May we should kick off. There should be no cause for alarm at this point,” said the Sulom boss who is also a Football Association of Malawi (FAM) executive committee member.

Bottoman also said as it stands, the situation will affect the calendar.

“There is no doubt about that, but it is important that we address the situation at hand other than rush to kick off the league.”

FAM president Walter Nyamilandu also said he is optimistic that the situation will be addressed soon.

“I will not say much, but we will see to it that the Super League should have a sponsor this coming season,” he said.

Sulom officials recently met Minister of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development Henry Mussa in Blantyre where he wanted to understand the circumstances leading to the sponsorship withdrawal before meeting TNM management.

The delay to kick off the flagship league as well as national team engagements have also led to FAM rescheduling the Chifundo Charity Shield which was initially slated for tomorrow.

Presidential Cup champions Nyasa Big Bullets, who are also the Charity Shield defending champions, and Super League champions Kamuzu Barracks were expected to meet at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.

FAM general secretary Alfred Gunda said the Charity Shield marks the beginning of the season; hence, it cannot be played while the Super League kick off is uncertain.