‘Chilumba Barracks FC must pay’
Super League of Malawi (Sulom) General Secretary, Williams Banda, says Chilumba Barracks FC must pay for costs arising from their ill-timed TNM Super League pull-out.
Despite the 2016 season being expected to kick- off on April 16, Banda Tuesday insisted that the question of Chilumba’s replacement in the league does not arise at this stage.
“We cannot be talking about the team to replace Chilumba now because as per Sulom’s constitution, we will write them indicating conditions that their sponsors [Malawi Defence Force (MDF)] have to fulfil. If they fail, they will not be allowed to pull out of the league,”Banda explained.
He said that before a team is allowed to take part in the top-flight league, they are supposed to provide assurance from their sponsor’s commitment, and Chilumba did.
“Some resources have been used because the branding of some things, such as uniforms, has already been done,” Banda added.
Northern Region Football Association (NRFA) Chairperson, Lameck Khonje, yesterday said he would meet Sulom officials in Blantyre over Chilumba’s matter.
“We are having problems to make serious decisions because Chilumba has not communicated to us officially. Karonga United are the possible team to replace the soldiers. I have been talking to the sponsor, Yabwanya (Willy Yabwanya Phiri), who always sounds positive. However, the other problem is the pending injunction issue involving him. If Football Association of Malawi (Fam) rules against him and others, then he will not be able to continue sponsoring the team,” Khonje said.
Yabwanya could—alongside the other accused Wilkins Mijiga and Tiya Somba-Banda—be banned from football in the event that they are faulted for defying Fifa statutes.
The three are, contrary to the statutes, accused of taking football related matters to an ordinary court of law while trying to have last December’s Fam elections postponed in Mangochi District. Somba-Banda denies obtaining the injunction.
According to Khonje, a third promotion option from NRFA are Kabwafu FC, who finished on third position during the 2015 Simama League.
On Friday, Chief of Training at MDF, Brigadier General Alick Mhone, said they instructed Chilumba to withdraw due to financial problems, adding that they want three teams only in the top-flight league.
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