Due to insufficient financing from the Malawi National Council of Sports, the Malawi U-17 team was unable to travel to Eswatini for an international competition. The estimated cost of the trip was MK42 million.
The delegation which includes football, basketball, and athletics, was heading to Eswatini for the U-17 Council of Southern Africa Schools Sports Association (COSAFA) games.
The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) provided the delegation with a bus and fuel to cover the entire the trip, but the journey failed as the Malawi Sports Council failed to release K42 Million for all logistical needs at the tournament.
After covering about 10 kilometers from FAM offices to a filling station, where they packed while waiting for funding, which did not materialize On Saturday.
And when they realized that the Council would not transfer the funds for the trip, they called off the journey on the same day.
Delegation leaders later dispatched the disappointed players to their homes in Lilongwe and surrounding districts, while other players spent a night at FAM offices until Sunday morning.
According to Malawi Schools Association, President Blackson Malamula, he claimed that there was an assurance of funding from the Sports Council.
“Our plan was to leave Malawi on Saturday morning, and we arrived in Eswatini on Monday morning because we were supposed to play our first games on Tuesday“
“It is disappointing; we cannot proceed with the trip, hence releasing players from camp,” he said in a telephone interview with Bola News.
When reached for a comment, Sports Council Chief Executive Officer, Henry Kamata, responded that the the council was not aware. “It is wrong to accuse them because they are not aware of this trip”.
