Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has secured $50,000 (about K90 million) for Malawi’s Confederation of African Football (Caf) Champions League representatives.
Fam President Fleetwood Haiya disclosed the news during the prize presentation ceremony for this year’s Goshen Fam Women’s National Championship at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday.
Haiya said Caf will directly channel the annual package to any club that qualifies for the elite continental club competition.
“We hope this will inspire more clubs to take part in continental competitions if they qualify. We know that the money is not enough but we believe this is a good starter pack for our teams. This also applies to women’s football teams that qualify for the Caf Champions League,’’ he said.
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The move is expected to motivate local clubs to participate in the competition, which they have been shunning for many years with the exception of FCB Nyasa Big Bullets.
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Most of the local clubs have been failing to participate in continental competitions due to financial constraints.
By virtue of being Malawi champions for five consecutive years, Bullets will be the first beneficiaries as they have been participating in the Champions League since 2018.
They only missed out in 2020 as football was suspended due to the Covid pandemic.
Haiya said Bullets will get the money for participating in the 2023 Caf Champions League, which they exited in the second preliminary round after a 5-0 aggregate loss to TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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“We have already asked for account details from Bullets so that we send them [details] to Caf for payment,” Haiya said.
He said the annual package is for the Champions League only and not for the Confederation Cup, which is the second-tier continental club competition.
Bullets Chief Administration Officer Albert Chigoga welcomed the development, describing it as a huge boost to their participation in the Champions League.
“I am sure this will help in increasing the number of Malawian teams taking part in Caf competitions,’’ Chigoga said.
Bullets’ rivals Mighty Mukuru Wanderers last took part in the Champions League in 2017 Caf Champions League but ended up incurring huge debts in the process.
Wanderers Chief Executive Officer Panganeni Ndovi said the money will motivate more Malawian teams to take part in the competition.
“This is a positive development in the game of football as teams require a lot of money to participate in such competitions. As a result, many of them tend to shun such big competitions due to financial constraints.
“This amount of money will, therefore, help teams to participate in continental competitions, thereby improving standards of the game,” Ndovi said.
Silver Strikers Chief Executive Officer Patrick Chimimba said the initiative is commendable.
“Playing continental football is expensive and any support that cushions the financial burden on the clubs is welcome news,” Chimimba said.
Bullets are expected to take part in this year’s tournament.
However, coach Kalisto Pasuwa said his side lacks enough quality to compete against elite teams on the continent.
Last year, Bullets knocked out Equatorial Guinea side Dragon FC following a 3-0 victory on aggregate to book a date with TP Mazembe.
