The Ministry of Sports and Culture has shrugged off growing blame on the continued Malawi National Football Team’s underperformance on the international stage, saying government alone cannot shoulder responsibility of the Flames.
Football Association of Malawi’s (Fam) annual budget for the Flames engagements is in the region of K600 million, but this year will only receive K32 million after Malawi National Council of Sports’ budget was slashed from K1.3 billion to K1 billion.
Nonetheless, Christopher Mbukwa, the ministry’s spokesperson, said yesterday government expected an improved performance from the Flames at the Cosafa Cup in Namibia, where the team exited the group stages after losing 1-0 to Lesotho on Thursday.
Two weeks ago, Malawi also bowed out of 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group L qualifying race, which has consumed overs K200 million, including from the team’s official sponsor, Carlsberg Malawi.
“I think it is overly unfair to pile the blame on the Flames’ exit from Cosafa on poor funding. Government continues to set aside allocations every year towards Fam,” Mbukwa said.
“At the same time, the responsibility to ensure that all the needs of Fam are met is for all stakeholders in the sport. Government’s efforts should be complemented.
Mbukwa fell short of being specific on policies government has put in place to entice the private sector investment in sports, saying it is the associations that are supposed to propose such incentives. Most companies sponsor sports under Corporate Social Responsibility.
“Every year, we have tried to provide a conducive environment for private sector to support sports in whatever capacity,” Mbukwa claimed.
Sports Council Executive Secretary, George Jana, has since observed that while inadequate funding is a challenge for national sports teams, including the Flames, sports administrators share the biggest blame.
Jana said, yesterday, sports administrators give false promises on preparedness of teams and register for even competitions that they are not ready for.
“The issue is always about money. I think people have tended to use it as an excuse for failure. In my view the system is to blame. It focuses on the senior level. There is little focus on the youth,” Jana said yesterday when asked about the Flames’ struggles.
“We also need to be honest with ourselves. Every time they send a team to a competition, they always say they are ready. Nobody is forthright on preparations. When they lose, then they say the team was not prepared. On the Flames’ participation in Afcon qualifiers, I don’t think they are ready for such competitions.”
Jana has since promised to engage all their sports affiliates, including Fam, to appreciate their challenges and map the way forward.
Fam president Walter Nyamilandu has repeatedly said government was not doing enough to fund the team, citing the decreased funding as spelling a bleak future for the team.
Netball Association of Malawi also complains of inadequate funding, but Jana noted that there were also signs of lack of preparedness in netball.
He cited the Under-21 netball team call-up, saying it was difficult to form such a team when there is no youth netball league.
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