FANS’ ROLE IN THE FLAMES’ QUEST TO CONQUER THE COSAFA REGION

 The Flames’ impressive exploits at AFCON 2021, where they exited the tournament in the round of 16, have reignited the belief that Malawi can reach greater heights in international football. Considering that usual regional hegemons such as South Africa, Angola, and Zambia seem to be on an endless downward spiral, the Flames have a fair chance to become a football powerhouse for Southern Africa.

To fully claim this status, though, the Flames need to build on their AFCON performance by registering solid results in their next assignments, which will include friendlies, the COSAFA tournament, CHAN 2022, and AFCON 2023 qualifiers. Positive results in these engagements would see the Flames improve on FIFA rankings and earn international recognition. For this to materialize, however, all stakeholders, including the Ministry of Sports, FAM, Mario Marinica and his technical team, the corporate world, local clubs, the players, the media, and us (the fans), need to take concrete action to support the cause.

But, while the rest of the stakeholders have defined roles on what they ought to do, concrete actions that ordinary Malawians can take to help the Flames are usually murky. As a result, most football lovers resort to keyboard warriorism as our only way of contributing to the Flames’ quest for success.

That being said, there are 3 tangible ways in which local football lovers can contribute to ensuring that the Flames maintain their AFCON 2021 form. These are:

1.      Attend Local Games

A normal day at Civo Stadium: Empty stands

The TNM Super League is the bedrock of the Flames. A competitive Super League means stiff competition for national team call-ups, which would motivate players to work hard to earn a spot on national team call-ups. One way in which a competitive Super League can come to be, however, is when all 16 clubs in the league have significant operating budgets. At the moment, unfortunately, the majority of Super League clubs lack sponsorship, which weakens the competition in the Super League. With limited operating budgets, clubs struggle to motivate their players and to offer ideal conditions for players to perform to the best of their individual abilities. This makes it easy for mediocre players to earn Flames call ups and represent us on the international stage.

Lacking reliable sponsorship, most local clubs rely on gate collections for their survival. But current attendance numbers, especially when Nyasa Big Bullets, Mighty Wanderers, and Silver Strikers are not involved, leave a lot to be desired. Some matches barely get 50 spectators, thereby negatively affecting the clubs’ match day income. One crucial element that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed in football is the role of matchday revenue to sustain football clubs. If some European clubs were on the verge of bankruptcy after playing less than a season in empty stadiums, ask yourself how clubs like Civo Service United, who usually play in an empty stadium (unless they are playing Bullets, Wanderers, and Silver Strikers) survive season after season.

For this reason, when the 2022 football season kicks off, it will be imperative for each concerned football fan to mobilize their families and friends to attend local games. After all, apart from gate fees, attending games in large numbers helps create an electric atmosphere in the stadium, which conditions our players to perform under pressure.

2.      Buy Team Merchandize

Setting the right precedence: Minister Mtambo in a Chitipa United jersey.

Apart from gate collections, buying team merchandise is another great avenue that fans can use to support local clubs and, in effect, help build a strong national team. Now that Super League clubs are required to source their own kits, a couple of clubs plan to sell merchandise ranging from replica shirts, tumblers, stickers, and hats. Coming to think of it, it would go a long way if President Chakwera encouraged his new cabinet to set an example of buying replica jerseys of local clubs. Imagine a framed image of Chakwera’s executive donning jerseys of their favorite local clubs? Certainly, such an image would set a great precedence for ordinary citizens. Make it happen Honorable Chimwendo Banda.

It is about time we normalized wearing replicas of local clubs ahead of replicas of foreign clubs. After all, visibility matters in sports.

But to make this endeavor more successful, club administrators need to do a few things on their part. First, they need to ramp their customer engagement and simplify access to their merchandise. Second, they need to set mechanisms that will stop unscrupulous opportunists from hijacking their initiatives with counterfeit products. Vigilance will be key here.

3.      Stop Aiding and Abetting Players’ Vices

Shady business

A few facts are in order here. Football is a short-term career. A healthy body is the most important asset for a football player. Alcohol and drug abuse ruin a football player’s body and compromise theirathletic performance. The Malawian football sector has lost a lot of promising talent to drug and alcohol abuse. Stories of players that turn up to training while leaking a stench of booze are not uncommon.

But how does a player on a K60, 000 salary afford to binge drink week in week out? This is made possible by certain fans who have a tendency of spoiling players with loads of alcohol whenever they come across them in drinking joints. You see this happens at Parish in Mzuzu, Chez Ntemba in Lilongwe, Blue Elephant in Blantyre, and more so in less fancy drinking joints in locations.

Of course, it is the player’s prerogative to avoid engaging in activities that have detrimental effects on their career, but we all know that indiscipline and most Malawian footballers go hand in hand. This is where the fans can step in. There must be healthier ways to appreciate active football players than supporting lifestyles that ruin sports careers.

 

A lot of loose ends need to be tied to take Malawian football to the next level. As mentioned earlier, ensuring that the Flames maintain their current form is a collaborative endeavor. All stakeholders need to do their part with due diligence. While football administrators and the corporate world have a bigger role to play, the fans too need to contribute. Without fans’ input, football is as good as dead. As such, as ordinary Malawians, we need to step up and help put money in the sector. This is the only way the Flames will cement their status as a Southern Africa football powerhouse.