Malawi players need spiritual help to manage fame and fortune—Nyamilandu

In collaboration with Football Association of Malawi (FAM), Sport Chaplaincy Malawi is set to attach 16 chaplains with Super League clubs and other sport institutions to spiritually guide players.

At the closing ceremony of a 21-day Sport Chaplaincy Workshop, FAM president Walter Nyamilandu — who was guest of honour — applauded the initiative, saying Malawi players need spiritual guidance to manage fame and fortune so that they realise their full potential.

Nyamilandu wit Pastor Emmanuel Chodzeka

He observed that football players have pressure to manage their social life because they lack counselling and spiritual guidance and appealed to everybody in football circles to embrace the campaign with Sport Chaplaincy Malawi to enhance the service.

“We need God intervention in our football,” Nyamilandu said. “Most players nowadays are under pressure to take care of themselves and if they don’t handle the situation properly the future is compromised.

“We need team chaplains to offer that guidance and counselling on how players can behave and handle themselves because the devil thrives on pleasure and where there is power.

“We want this campaign to be embraced by everybody in football because we all believe in God. Every team must appoint a team chaplain,” he said.

The graduating chaplains

Sport Chaplaincy Malawi country coordinator, Pastor Emmanuel Chodzeka said 16 chaplains have been drilled in sport emotional hearing, conflict resolution, serve and leadership.

“We will engage them to football and sport institutions to serve and help our players grow spiritually,” he said.

One of the participants Ben Chinganyama — a former Mighty Tigers, Nyasa Big Bullets and Malawi Under-20 player, said players indeed need guidance as they face a lot of pressure to manage their social life.

“I quit football at a very young age because of social life. I would have achieved a lot in the game but I failed to manage my life due to lack of guidance.

“The same should not happen to the current generation and that is why I decided to join this programme to help young players become the best they can be,” Chinganyama said.

Last week, South Africa-based Malawi football star, Gabadinho Mhango, bad publicity on himself when his host country’s media reported that he was detained for hours by the security personnel of an entertainment joint named Club Propaganda over a huge bill amounting to R26,000 (about K1.4 million) after buying rounds of drinks that included strangers.

Though the club quickly went to his Defence to refute the reports, damage had already been done and just a day later the Daily Sun newspaper published in with a screaming headline ‘Soccer star in porn fight’, which detailed that after leaving Club Propaganda Gaba left in the company of friends that included that country’s porn movie actress Wandi Ndlovu.

The paper further said Gaba was later involved in a war of words altercation with Ndlovu at the next venue they went to party at.

A day Kickoff.com reported that Gaba was issued with a stern warning on his rumoured lifestyle after a number of alleged incidents that had been circulating on social media recently.

Kickoff.com turned to former Malawi international, Chancy Gondwe for his comment on bad publicity dogging Gaba, who responded to say these were unfortunate developments and that the player “needs a lot of counselling”.

Chancy, who played for Mamelodi Sundowns and Wits University in the South Africa Premier Soccer League (PSL) commented on how his lifestyle negatively impacted his career before turning his life around to become a pastor after his playing days.

“I think it is appropriate that you are talking to me because this means I will now get in touch with the Football Association of Malawi to give me his number so that I can talk to him,” he told Kickoff.com.

“I went through the same things when I was in South Africa and look what eventually happened to my career. When you are famous everyone wants to be associated with you and you won’t realise it because you are enjoying the attention.

“The trouble is that most of the time, you end up losing everything because you are taking things for granted.

“When all this nightclub business is happening, you feel like you are sitting on top of the world, but life will humble you. The next thing you will soon be history so such kind of people needs someone who can talk to them.

“It is easy to mess your career by doing such things,” Gondwe was quoted as saying by KickOff.com.

Gaba, who has been in the PSL since 2013 starting out with Bloemfontein Celtic before stints with Golden Arrows and Bidvest Wits, is reported to have not played in the last two Pirates games and is also without a goal since June.

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