Football Association of Malawi (Fam) must quickly conclude contract negotiations with Malawi National Football Team coach-designate, Ronny Van Geneugden, as he has also reportedly applied for the Zimbabwe’s Warriors job.
Van Geneugden jetted in on Thursday evening through Chileka International Airport, Blantyre alongside his agent, Carlo Antonio Cabrera—an indication that the actual contract is yet to be sealed.
Fam President, Walter Nyamilandu and General Secretary, Alfred Gunda, who recently contradicted each other on the coaching post having reneged on the unveiling of Gerald Phiri Senior, have kept the Belgian’s issue under wraps.
“We are hoping to finalise everything by Friday [yesterday] so that he can get to work as soon as possible,” Nyamilandu told www.fam.mw yesterday.
Fam’s website added that “should the talks be successful, Van Geneugden’s first task will be the 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan) preliminary qualifiers against Madagascar [on April 22].”
Fam is also elusive on the contract duration and the source of the coach’s remuneration as the government stated that it cannot afford an expatriate who generally demands at least K7 million monthly.
Malawi National Council of Sports Executive Secretary, George Jana, yesterday reaffirmed the government’s stance on the coach’s perks.
“We are aware that the coach is in. At every step, they are telling us what is happening. It is pretty about merely keeping us in the loop, otherwise it is entirely Fam’s issue,” Jana explained.
It is clear that Geneugden has options as Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has confirmed that he is among the 600 applicants for the Warriors’ job which fell vacant after the exit of Calisto Pasuwa. Coincidently, Pasuwa was also on the Flames’ radar.
Van Geneugden, who is a former coach of Belgian Premier League club Genk and Second Division side Oud-Heverleen Leuven, was last employed by Cypriot side, Enosis Neon Paralimni.
Leave a Reply