Africa-Press – Malawi. Football Association of Malawi (Fam) is set to appoint a new technical director by November 1 2021 after successful virtual interviews on Friday. The association had short-listed four coaches out of 13 coaches who applied for the job.
However, three coaches from Spain, Romania and Scotland took part in virtual interviews. Fam Sub-technical Committee Chairperson Tiya Somba-Banda confirmed Sunday that the process was on track.
“We had successful interviews and it was tight. We believe that we will get the right person for the job. Our target is to fast-track the process so that we should have the TD by the first week of November,” Somba-Banda said.
According to Somba-Banda, one coach who was short-listed for the interviews did not take part. However, Somba-Banda kept a tight lid on the identities of the three coaches.
The association re-advertised the post after it expressed dissatisfaction with the crop of 11 coaches who had applied for the job. Fam was looking for a highly qualified person who has Pro- Licence and a degree in sports management.
This automatically ruled local coaches out of the post as none has such qualifications. Former Flames coach Kinnah Phiri was one of the local coaches who showed interest in the job but he was not shortlisted.
Kinnah said he was not bitter. “I think it was a setup that they did not want local coaches,” Kinnah, who helped Malawi qualify for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Angola, said.
Apart from Kinnah, current coach Meck Mwase and late Henry Moyo are the only local coaches who have guided the team to the finals of the continental showpiece.
National Football Coaches Association Chairperson Aubrey Nankhuni said the local coaches will learn a lot from the foreign TD. “We have capable coaches in Malawi but we lack experience. Our expectations are high and we hope the TD will develop football,” Nankhuni said.
In August this year, Fam President Walter Nyamilandu said the post was re-advertised to cast the net wider. “We felt we did not do enough search around the world to attract the attention we were looking for,” Nyamilandu said.
The post fell vacant after the association did not renew John Kaputa’s contract in June this year after he served in that capacity for eight years. Kaputa replaced the late Jack Chamangwana in 2013.
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