Football Association of Malawi (Fam) President Fleetwood Haiya has hit back at critics of the association’s management of women’s football in the country.
Haiya was addressing journalists at Mpira Village, Chiwembe Township in Blantyre on Thursday.
He was responding to some allegations from some concerned sports personalities that he is sidelining the National Women’s Football Association (NWFA) on issues of the Malawi Women’s National Football Team, the Scorchers.
Haiya said some people are deliberately trying to bring confusion in domestic football.
“Do whatever you can but you cannot blackmail me. I will not give you the money you want. I contribute a lot to football. It is better to invest money in football. There is a lot that football needs.
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“You should not be selfish and think that you are more important than others. I do not normally respond to such issues,” Haiya said.
Haiya said the Scorchers, just like the Flames and the Beach Soccer National Team fall under the association’s mandate.
“We have three national football teams and their junior teams. All the teams are government entities. Our role is to administer the teams,” he said.
He said his administration has on several occasions assigned NWFA Chairperson Adellaide Migogo, who is also Fam executive committee member, to various assignments.
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“I am surprised that some people are complaining on her behalf. Actually, she was invited for the press conference but due to other reasons she did not come,” he said.
When contacted Friday, Migogo was reluctant to comment on the matter.
“I cannot comment on the issue,” Migogo said.
Recently, one of the football administrators, Isaac Jomo Osman criticised Haiya for celebrating the Scorchers TotalEnergies Wafcon qualification.
Osman was quoted by The Nation last week that Fam was hijacking women’s FA responsibilities.
“Now, you are celebrating the Scorchers qualification to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. What are you celebrating when you are not helping women’s football? It is a shame,” he was quoted as saying.
But yesterday, Osman said it was unfortunate that Haiya responded through a press conference.
“The best way was to call for a meeting with all the concerned stakeholders. Leaders should take criticism positively,” Jomo said.
The Scorchers qualified for Wafcon finals after beating Angola 2-0 on aggregate
