Date Of Article: 3/31/2003
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Sono inspired by honour
By: Garry Chirwa
South Africa’s popular soccer outfit Jomo Cosmos’ owner Jomo Sono has said the honour he got from Malawi Government will drive him even more to help develop soccer in the country. Vice president Justin Malewezi presented a gold laced certificate to Sono on behalf of government at Chichiri Stadium on Saturday in recognition of his contribution towards soccer development and the exposure of Malawian players in particular. “Obviously I feel humbled...some people are honoured when they are dead so I feel very, very happy. “It has made me to be more encouraged to help develop Malawi football as much as I can. I would like to do more for Malawi apart from exposing players to foreign leagues,” explained Sono. Sono, who is one of the most respected figures in South African football circles and is revered as the prince of soccer, hinted that one of the areas he would concentrate on is technical assistance. The Cosmos boss has exposed over ten Malawian players who have played for his club as well as others overseas through his locally-based scout Ben Chiwaya. Some of the players are Ernest ‘Wire’ Mtawali, Essau Kanyenda, Ricky Phuka, late Fanello Munthali, Russell Mwafulirwa, Jones Nkhwazi late Cliffton Msiya, late Frank ‘Pilato’ Sinalo and late Siliat Maganga. Commenting on the game, Sono said Malawi conceded a silly goal because of tenseness. “You could easily note that they had tension at the beginning because they were playing against a big side, they showed a lot of respect for Nigeria and as a result they conceded an unnecessary corner which led to the lone goal but they cooled down later on. “The other problem I noted was that there was a big gap between the defence and the midfield and so too the midfield and the striking force...the strikers were not getting the necessary supply. But having said that, thumbs up for Malawi, it’s not embarrassing to lose 1-0 to a team like Nigeria. They gave out their best,” said Sono, who flew back to South Africa on Sunday morning.
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