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| Sports |
| Bullets want govt’s hand |
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by
Garry Chirwa, 05 October 2004
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09:42:30
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A call for alms. Crippling budgetary constraints have forced Bakili Bullets to take out their begging bowl to government in their campaign for Caf Champions League honours.
The people’s team went knocking on Sports Minister Henry Chimunthu Banda’s door recently asking for government’s assistance in the cause.
Chimunthu Banda confirmed Monday having been approached by the Bullets and stated that government is ready to assist with the little it can spare since the people’s team is representing the country.
“They approached me just before they left for Tunisia to ask if government could meet part of their travel costs but unfortunately it wasn’t quite possible at that time because we have had a reduction in our budget allocation.
“But the spirit to help the team is there because they are our flag carriers and if they do well, the government will be proud. I have asked them that if there are areas where we can come in then we would be more than willing provided that there should be no financial implications or there should be very little financial involvement,” said the minister.
Bullets general secretary Ophman Kondowe confirmed having scrounged from the minister.
“We feel we have reached a stage whereby government should come in and assist us. After all we are representing the nation.
“Bullets is the only team in the country that has performed wonders in a major tournament in recent times and it is very costly to participate in such a big tournament and considering the level we have reached, we felt government can help us meet some of the costs,” said Kondowe.
The Bullets official said while their sponsor is determined to fund the team throughout the tournament, “the load is just too much on him, already he has spent millions of kwacha in this tournament.”
He added: “We have a crucial match against Enyimba that will determine our fate in this competition and we needed to go into camp much earlier and if government can help by camping the team at a government institution, we would very much appreciate because we would have that feeling that we are getting support from our government. That is the kind of assistance that we are looking forward to.”
But didn’t Bullets realise the financial implications of participating in such a tournament long before hand?
“We knew that it would be costly and there was total commitment from our sponsor, but that doesn’t stop us from seeking assistance from other quarters including government because we are representing the country.”
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