Eight clubs risk dismissal
Eight Super League clubs could be barred from competing in the 2016 TNM Super League season, which kicks-off this Saturday, after failing to meet Club Licensing System minimum requirements.
Football Association of Malawi’s (Fam’s) Club Licensing First Instance Body met last Saturday to evaluate the clubs’ applications for the licences.
Fam on Monday revealed that only six teams met the majority of requirements, and they received the licences to compete in the league.
Among the six clubs, only Be Forward Wanderers and Mzuni FC were given full licences after falling in the green range of scoring Club Licensing points.
Wanderers were the best among the rest after scoring 84 percent whereas Mzuni scored 73 percent.
However, the Nomads have been challenged to fulfill other requirements such as coming up with a new constitution, submit remainder of players’ contracts and submit confirmation letter from the bank about their account details.
Blue Eagles, Nyasa Big Bullets, Silver Strikers and newly-promoted Dwangwa United received provisional licences, and were challenged to fulfill remaining requirements if they were to get full licences.
Bullets specifically have been asked to submit audited accounts, set up a secretariat and a youth team, youth development programmes and employ a qualified youth coach.
Clubs that are in the red range and have their work cut out to earn a licence are Moyale Barracks (45 percent), Civo United (35 percent), Epac FC (28 percent), Kamuzu Barracks (24 percent), Red Lions (20 percent), Mafco (20 percent), Max Bullets (20 percent) and Azam Tigers (18 percent).
The teams have until Thursday this week to fulfill the requirements in the areas of submission of player contracts, infrastructure, legal, produce audited accounts, setting up youth development structures and establishing a secretariat.
Tigers were highlighted as the only club without a constitution and have until Thursday to come up with one.
The promoted clubs Max Bullets, Dwangwa United and Karonga United have until the end of the Super League first round to meet all the requirements. This is the same deadline for the team to emerge from the Super League play-offs.
Fam Executive Committee Member, Daud Mtanthiko, who handed out the licences on behalf of Fam President Walter Nyamilandu, warned that the eight clubs risked being barred from the Super League.
“This is the first step towards professionalism of the game in the country. We know it will be a difficult process, but we will not relent. We want to bring sanity in Malawi football to do away with some of the issues such as controversies over player contracts and poor welfare for the players. The First Instance Body will on Friday evaluate the new submissions by the clubs and that is when we will know who will participate in the Super League this season,” he said.
The process started on February 28 2015, but clubs only started submitting their documents earlier this year.
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