Vitumbiko still Eagles player, says Sulom

 Super League of Malawi (Sulom) says attacking midfielder Vitumbiko Kumwenda is still a Blue Eagles player despite signing for Be Forward Wanderers.

Sulom general secretary (GS) Williams Banda was reacting to Blue Eagles’ complaint to Sulom and Football Association of Malawi (FAM) accusing Wanderers of player tapping.

“As of now, our official records indicate that Vitumbiko Kumwenda is a Blue Eagles player. He is not a free agent.

“If he has decided to join another team, which we are not officially aware of, he will have to talk to his parent club to clear him,” he said.

Kumwenda tendered his resignation last week after his transfer to Wanderers flopped over signing-on fees.

Initially, Eagles wanted K8 million for Kumwenda, but the offer was reduced

 to K5 million and later K3.5 million. However, Wanderers insisted on paying K3 million which led to a deadlock.

Though Eagles invited the player for a roundtable discussion on the matter, he refused and proceeded to sign a three-year contract with the Nomads.

Blue Eagles chairperson Alexander Ngwala confirmed having lodged a complaint with FAM and Sulom, accusing Wanderers of illegally signing their player.

But Wanderers GS Victor Maunde said they followed the right procedure when signing the player.

“What we know is that the player is a free agent, having resigned from his club,” he said.

However, soccer analyst Charles Nyirenda observed that Kumwenda took matters into his hands by terminating his contract and joining another team.

“I think the best way was to sit down with his club and find a solution. Or he could have lodged a complaint with FAM or Sulom. Otherwise, you cannot just terminate a running contract without a good reason and join another club,” he said.