Chester delighted with loan move to Las Vegas Lights FC

Malawi international footballer, Yamikani Chester has agreed a loan move to the USL Championship side Las Vegas Lights FC from second-tier league side North Carolina FC.

Chester,  who signed to Czech Republic side MFK Vsykov in 2019,  spent the season playing on loan at North Carolina FC in the USL Championship where he became a fan favourite due to his stellar eye-catching performances.

The midfielder currently in Malawi following the conclusion of the USL Championship shall be joining his new team in January 2020.

Speaking in an interview with Nyasa Times to discuss his move, Chester stated he was delighted to join  Las Vegas Lights FC  and will do his best.

Chester wed his childhood sweetheart on 21st December 2019, and stated he is concentrating on his new marriage and honeymoon and that his management will shed further light on his career.

The player’s Europe-based Malawian manager James Woods Nkhutabasa and Cameroonian manager Kingsley Pungong, informed Nyasa Times that Chester performed very well in his debut season in the USL with North Carolina FC.

“He became a fan favourite with many at the club wishing he stayed on. North Carolina FC wanted to keep him for the upcoming season but as you are already aware, last season Chester would perform well and then sit out the next game so as a group we want him to develop further and be in a club which can help him do that – be that through game time, training and coaching,” said James Wood.

Pungong added that Las Vegas Lights FC has an excellent development scheme and the coach Eric Wynalda who has over 100 caps for the USA national team and played professionally in the German top league, the Bundesliga, he is someone who will help advance Chester.

“There were offers from several clubs around the world but we believed this loan move allows for Chester to up his game and in return we can get the right offer for his career. The loan agreement is for one year but can be recalled if the right offer comes in,” he said.

The managers disclosed that there is ongoing negotiations for Chester’s career development but he needs to put his head down and work hard – to continuously prove his talent and work ethic.

“The rest we will handle as a group behind the scene. Beyond this we are still interested in signing further Malawian players.”

Las Vegas Lights FC website said the following: “Our team will be literally bigger, faster and stronger on all levels with these additions. With the positional profiles that we set, we wanted to make sure that we are a team that isn’t going to get pushed around. There were times last season where we couldn’t hold the ball or were lacking in the strength component, and that won’t be the case next year.”

Chester scored five goals in the 970 minutes of action he saw on the field with North Carolina and was awarded several man of the match awards.

Nyasa Times dug deeper into Chester’s management company and discovered that one of the players under management is the Cameroonian international Christian Bassogog who plys his trade in the Chinese Super league for Henan Jianye FC.

According to the renowned British media outlet The Guardian, ‘’Christian Bassogog was earning £25 a week with Rainbow FC in the Cameroonian second division. Today he is an Africa Cup of Nations champion with Cameroon, his weekly wage has rocketed to £60,000 after tax.’’

Bassogog went from Rainbow FC in Cameroon on loan to USA based Wilmington Hammerheads at the foot of the US third division, after a year went on loan to Alborg in the Swedish league before a €6.8million transfer to China. In 2017, Henan Jianye FC had offered Bassogog a net annual salary of €2m [£1.75m] but they would go up to €2.5m, €3m and then €3.5m

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