Players should brace playing with rains on return to action
With very strong and likely expectations that the Malawi elite league might commence this October, players should develop very thick skins to play with heavy rains from December to March.
Research has shown that most of the pitches in the country become unplayable during the rainy season except Kamuzu and Chiwembe stadia which have artificial turfs.
But many players and officials say they want football to return with or without rains.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) President, Walter Nyamilandu Manda, said players should just prepare for the situation ahead of them because there is very little that can be done.
Nyasa Big Bullets captain, John Lanjesi, says players are ready with or without rains but there should be a reasonable resting interval between one match and another.
“As players, we are not looking at the weather or climate. We just want football to resume. What is important is to protect us all from the current pandemic. I also wish to ask organisers to consider a resting period of a day or two between two matches involving a single side because during the rainy season, a single match culminates to great, great fatigue among players,” Lanjesi explains.
Be Forward Wanderers General Secretary, Victor Maunde, says they have no choice but to kick-start the season.
“As Wanderers we don’t have any choice. We have always wanted football to return. We will fulfil our fixtures at any cost regardless of the weather,” Maunde says.
However, Chief Executive Officer for Silver Strikers, Thokozani Chimbali, told a local radio station that he has problems with pitches in the country.
“Drainage systems for our pitches are poor. We will therefore have challenges playing in a good number of pitches,” Chimbali said.
