National Sports

U-20 league has over-aged players—FAM

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has said most of the players in the FMB Under-20 League are over-aged.

FAM president Walter Nyamilandu was reacting to criticism levelled against the association and Under-20 team selectors by the National Youth Football Association (NYFA) chairperson Chimango Munthali and his general secretary (GS) Thoko Chimbali that most of the players who played at the Cosafa tournament in Zambia were over-aged.

“For some time, we have been concerned that most of the players in the Under-20 league are over-aged. So, he [Munthali] must address the problem in his league.

“The Under-20 national team is for players from all leagues and not just the Under-20 league irrespective of where the player is playing as long as they are bonafide citizens of this country.

“As an association, we have a duty to make sure that Malawi is represented by the best players at all times as long as they are within the required age bracket,” he said.

The FAM boss also said being a member of the technical sub-committee, “Munthali knows the right forum for such issues”.

He said there were measures taken to the extent that parents were made to sign for their ages.

Nyamilandu said they are proud of the team’s performance at the tournament and that it was unfortunate that they did not qualify for the semi-finals.

“That we did not lose a game and we were able to hold the hosts and immediate past champions Zambia speaks volumes of how good the team was,” Nyamilandu said.

He said the team will take part in CAF Under-20 Championship and 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers as part of the process of building a strong senior team.

Reacting to the FAM president’s sentiments, Munthali said: “I respect his opinion, but I do not want to fight my president in the papers.

“If he is serious about sorting out this issue, let him call for a meeting where he will get our response.”

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