Players’ medical insurance process complete
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) and its influential affiliate Super League of Malawi (Sulom) have successfully completed processing the Econosport Insurance Cover under Medical Aid Society of Malawi (Masm).
The development means TNM Super League players and women’s football players can now access healthcare services under the facility.
All the 16 teams in the Super League have managed to secure cards for their players.
The cards are being distributed to the top flight teams with Nyasa Big Bullets, Mighty Wanderers, Red Lions and Ekwendeni Hammers players having already received theirs last week.
This will see Fam paying Masm at least K8 million annually, with some support staff from the country’s football governing body also benefiting from the facility.
Fam General Secretary Alfred Gunda said they could consider extending the facility to referees in future.
“We just had to get started with the players. This is what is in our agreement with Masm. We may consider referees in future but, as long as they are on Mpira Connect, they can also access the facility on their own for now, so it’s not a big deal,” Gunda said.
National Referees Association General Secretary Chris Kalichero said match officials deserve inclusion in the scheme.
“This is a very good programme which will greatly benefit football players. Our plea as referees is that we need to be included. We are a key part of the football family and we need to be in good health at all times if we are to continue performing well,” Kalichero said.
Sulom President Tiya Somba-Banda said they wanted to start with players before moving to other beneficiaries.
“We wanted to take care of our players first. This is just a starting point and we are happy that our players have finally received their membership cards. They can now start to enjoy the facility,” Somba-Banda said.
Peter Fote is a Sports Journalist with huge experience in radio and Television reporting, production and presentation. He once worked with Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and is currently working for Times Media Group.
