Super League of Malawi (SULOM) and three clubs have become the first beneficiaries of the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) professionalization grant after fulfilling the pre-access requirements.
The three clubs are Moyale Barracks FC, Extreme FC and Ekwendeni Hammers and have received K2.5 million each while Sulom got K10 million as their 50 percent first instalment payment.
FAM General Secretary Alfred Gunda said the Association is delighted to have fulfilled its pledge to support the Elite League.
He applauded the stakeholders for fuilfling the conditions of the grants which will enable FAM to achieve its objective of embedding governance and enforcing professionalism to Member Associations.
“We made a commitment to support the Elite League, Regional Associations and their clubs with special grants aimed at enhancing professionalism and competitions.
“The grant was set on comply and access basis. Just like FAM undergoes a comply and access process to secure funding from FIFA, the Member Associations and their stakeholders are required to comply with the FAM Regulations on Financial Support to access their allocations. This was aimed at ensuring the principals of governance and professionalism are enhanced at our member Associations level.
“The principle to underline is that this is not Free money that should be used willy nilly. For this financial support to make great impact there is need for continued oversight to ensure that all funds are used responsibly and more reason why FAM come up with a well design governance system to guide the access, use and accountability of these resources.
“We are still receiving the grants applications from clubs and Member Associations, and we hope by the end of the week we would have distributed the grants to all stakeholders,” said Gunda.
Extreme FC chairperson Prosper Chisale confirmed receiving the funds .
“ The funds have come at the right time as some few days ago we sent an SOS on our financial status to ensure that we fulfil our fixtures in the Super League. We will use the money for players salaries as well travel for matches and we thank FAM for the timely support,” said Chisale.
At its third meeting of 2022 last December the FAM Executive Committee approved the allocation of special Sponsorship grants of K100 million to the Super League and K25 million to each of the three Regional Associations.
Eighty percent of the Super League grant was allocated towards Clubs Financial Assistance with the remaining 20 percent ear-marked for Super League of Malawi professionalisation and league operations.
Among the conditions to be fulfilled when applying for funding are submissions of a Pp
proof of a current bank account held in the name of the MA with designated signature arrangements of Chairperson, Treasurer and General Secretary at minimum; Application form signed by two members (Chairman and General Secretary/treasurer) clearly detailing usage of funds and the value add to the development the game of football in Malawi; Signed minutes of Executive meeting detailing agreed usage of funds; List of affiliated members of the Member Association; and proof that the Member Association and its membership have fully implemented FAM mandatory Football management online platforms (as applicable).
Source: FAM
