|
President Bakili Muluzi is planning to set-up a Trust Fund for the Flames having been impressed with the way it has worked wonders for Zimbabwe’s Warriors leading to their maiden qualification at the on-going Africa Cup of Nations.
The president’s special advisor on sports affairs, Henry Moyo said as Flames’ supporter number one, Muluzi has indicated that he will spearhead the cause himself.
“His Excellency was fascinated that the Warriors’ Trust Fund in Zimbabwe played a big role towards the team’s maiden qualification and he felt with a proper set-up and organisation it can also work out for the Flames,” said Moyo.
Moyo said apart from the national soccer teams, the Fund would also be responsible for coaches’ perks and development of the game from grassroots.
“The State President is planning to meet captains of the business industry, chief executives and other key figures in the sporting fraternity to brainstorm on the idea and eventually appoint the trustees who will responsible for the cause...and they might also go to Zimbabwe to learn how the Trust works.
“The president was concerned that millions of Malawians are following the Nations Cup event with keen interest and it would have been exciting to watch their own team,” said Moyo.
Moyo said the Fund is meant to be a springboard of the commercialisation thrust and it is expected to generate financial resources for short, medium and long terms.
“It is geared at actually seeing that football is run like a business and then if a sound financial base is created, it will make football programmes predictable as well as sustainable because as a nation you can now plan your future is as far as football is concerned.”
Fam acting president Anderson Zimba said in separate interview that the Flames’ budget for the forthcoming World Cup and Cosafa Castle Cup games is estimated at K50 million.
“But we are yet to agree with Sports Council and the outgoing technical committee on national coaches and the team’s preparations,” he said.
However, Moyo who is head of the outgoing committee said there is need for Fam to treat the issue of Flames preparations as a matter of urgency.
“Apart from Botswana, all our opponents in the World Cup Morocco, Tunisia, Guinea and Kenya are at the Africa Nations Cup and they will come back very prepared and we need to be very serious otherwise we’ll as usual be reduced to king makers,” said Moyo himself a successful former national team coach who was in charge when the Flames qualified for the Africa Nations Cup for the first time in 1984.
Another seasoned and highly respected coach Yasin Osman and soccer expert Humphrey Mvula agreed with Moyo’s sentiments that the Flames are facing a race against time.
Osman said: “It is important that a coach should be identified as soon as possible so that he can get down to work and start identifying players and then come up with a programme.
“If we are to compete with our opponents who are currently at the big stage in Tunisia then we should have started our preparations yesterday,” said Osman.
On his part Mvula said the Flames still need an expatriate coach.
“Today we are saying the honeymoon is over and we don’t need expatriate coaches when we can’t even produce competent coaches of our own...we have to hire coaches that can add value to our game especially ahead of such big competitions.
“We should not be dismissive, we should not trash expatriate coaches when we can’t produce competent coaches. Even the world’s top teams like Real Madrid, Manchester United and Arsenal have foreign coaches,” said Mvula.
|
