Wizards boss, Sulom GS trade barbs
Fisd Wizards FC chairperson Mike Tembo and Super League of Malawi (Sulom) general secretary (GS) Williams Banda on Saturday traded barbs following disagreements on the venue for a TNM Super League match between Wizards and Dedza Young Soccer which was played at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.
Wizards had requested Sulom to change the venue from Kamuzu Stadium to Kalulu Stadium in Nchalo, Chikwawa, but the flagship league governing body threw out Wizards’ request.
In a protest letter addressed to Sulom president Innocent Bottoman, Tembo accused the Sulom GS of being unprofessional and lacking seriousness, but Banda did not take it lying down and hit back at Tembo and accused him of lacking administrative football skills.
Part of the letter from Tembo addressed to the Sulom president, which Nation on Sunday has seen, reads: “ I write to convey our heart-felt disappointment in the manner Sulom General Secretary Mr. Williams Banda has handled the issue of our home ground on the forthcoming game against Dedza Young Soccer.
“As a home team, we wrote the general secretary, and you were copied, on a Monday and he only responded on Wednesday, with one sentence as follows, ‘This game will be played at Kamuzu Stadium , Thank you’.”
Tembo further claimed that they felt the Sulom GS did not act fairly by not providing reasons for his insistence that the game would still be played at Kamuzu Stadium.
“We feel the GS could have been a little professional by giving us a reason as we have the right of a venue as a home team, and this is the same venue we had informed his office in writing and we have been playing our games at the same venue.
“We feel there is lack of seriousness in the GS which is not healthy for the development of football in our country, as his office requires to coordinate these issues with the teams and not to impose venues on the teams for his own personal benefit, which is so questionable and leaves a lot to be desired,” the letter further reads.
The Wizards boss further claimed that the Sulom GS does not consider his team’s concerns.
“He is the kind of person you can write an official communication, but he will ignore it and do the things in his own way. All the communications written to him were ignored and when I tried personally to call him on his mobile, he responded that he was in a meeting, but he never bothered to call back, yet he knew I was calling him in line with his job as the GS for Sulom, otherwise he knows I don’t have any personal issues to deal with him.”
However, Banda yesterday said the decision to have the match played at Kamuzu Stadium was based on a number of factors, citing security, weather and sponsor’s interest.
“Memories are still fresh on what happened at Balaka Stadium in December 2012 when Mighty Wanderers played Silver where we lost a fan. Apparently, the decision has been faulted by the Fisd Wizards chairperson who happens to have no football administrative skills, risk analysis and assessment.
“Above all, Sulom recognises Kamuzu Stadium as first home ground for Fisd as per records,” said Banda. n
