014 It does not rain but pours for Might Wanderers FC who are currently sailing through troubled waters in the TNM Super League. Malawi24’s undercover reporter who attended the team’s crisis meeting has recorded-evidence which hint at the Nomads’ involvement in match-fixing. Unearthed evidence reveals that the Nomads have been bribing players and referees to manipulate games to their favour. Nomads officials are on record claiming that the ongoing poor run of form rocking the Lali Lubani boys in the country’s flagship football league, is as a result of failure to pay off opponents and match officials. One of the team’s senior officials narrated during the crisis meeting convened at BAT and later on at the team’s Club house on how the syndicate operates in fixing matches. Led by Diness Chitsulo, the executive committee for the team’s supporters accused Nomads’ main executive for failing to bribe some referees who had officiated their league and cup games this season. “This executive is not doing enough in bribing the referees officiating our games. It is their stupor that has made us a punching- bag. Now we are in the relegation zone for the first time in our history. All this because this Executive is stingy unlike their predecessors” narrated a fuming Chitsulo. He revealed further that the referee who officiated the game against Moyale Barracks during the weekend was willing to help the Wanderers win the game provided they pay him MK20,000. According to Chitsulo, since the executive committee did not give the alleged match- fixers the money they requested before kick-off game, the identified official could not “help” the Nomads as promised, saying he was committed to seeing the Soldiers of Kaning’ina win. Chitsulo together with his match-fixing colleagues further stated that they had identified and established contact in advance with the match officials for the Karonga United game which Nomads ended up losing 2-1. He also added that most of the referees have been telling Chitsulo and his colleagues that the team’s current executive is too stubborn when it comes to money issues. FAM, President Walter Nyamilandu is yet to comment on match fixing claims likely to dent the image of Malawi’s football Malawi24 was yet to get feedback from the league’s sponsors, SULOM (the league governing body), the country’s football association, FAM, as well as the law enforcement agency. But it is without doubt that the Wanderers match-fixing revelations are just a tip of the iceberg. FIFA has called for longer prison sentences for criminals involved in match-fixing, saying the malpractice endangers “the integrity of the game”. The world governing body has urged its affiliates like FAM to ban for life all the players and referees involved in the practice that FIFA has christened as “the cancer of football”. Nomad’s coach, Gerald Phiri, quit early this week after a wretched run of results left Wanderers floundering within the nose of the relegation zone of the TNM’s Super League. Last weekend’s 2-1 drubbing at Karonga United FC proved to be the final nail in Phiri’s coffin. Wanderers have 24 points from 20 games out of a possible 63 points. The team is pinned on position number 10 in the log table, just snooping slightly above the relegation zone.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 07:02:18 +0000
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