Malawi Football Association appeal for 1.5m US dollars funding from government

Malawi football to government – show me the money

JOHANNESBURG, April 8 (ANA) – The Football Association of Malawi (Fam) on Wednesday appealed to its government for funding of over 1.5 million US dollars following their senior men national football team’s qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Football Association of Malawi (Fam) president Walter Nyamilandu Manda said: “We expect your continued support as we look forward to start preparations for the Afcon finals as well as the 2022 World Cup qualifiers which will start in June.

“For the Afcon, Fam will need about K575 million (730 000 US dollars) to prepare and participate in the actual tournament. We will also need about K621 million (790 000 US dollars) to fulfil our World Cup qualifiers.

“However, we would like to request for a change in the Flames [senior men’s football team] funding strategy to allow for direct funding from the parliament vote allocation which shall ensure that activities and programs of the national team are undertaken without interruptions.”

Malawi captain John Banda said: “We thank you for hosting us. This win is a gift to you. As players, we are facing so many challenges, and we would be very grateful if you help us.

“We are requesting that we should be allocated houses or land and also make available special loans for national team players. We also want our bonuses to be increased. And some of us are officers in security agencies and we want to be promoted,” he said.

Malawi president Lazarus Chakwera hosted the team at the Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Monday following their qualification for Afcon.

Chakwera said: “It’s not about celebrating for just qualifying. We have been there before. It’s not just a win or scoring, we have done that before. Aim higher and aim to go further. So, it is not enough to just participate, aim for something that has never happened before.

“People had no faith in us. We were being treated as underdogs for a long time. But what our opponents didn’t know is that it’s not about the size of the dog but the fight in the dog. Now that we have again qualified, we should not rest on our laurels but aim for the main thing. We have shown that we are achievers and we can do it.” – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman