Sports and Games

Sulom U-turns on calendar change

Sulom U-turns on calendar change

The Super League of Malawi (Sulom) has maintained the calendar that runs from April to December for the 2025 TNM Super League season.

This comes a few weeks after Football Association of Malawi (Fam) released the football season calendar, which runs from March 29 this year to February 28 next year.

According to the draft fixture, which Sulom released during the annual general meeting (AGM) in Lilongwe on Saturday, the league would be concluded between December 20 and 25 2025.

This is in sharp contrast to the Fam football season calendar, which indicates that the season would end on February 28, one week after the conclusion of the 2025 TNM Super League season.

But Sulom General Secretary Williams Banda said the decision was made in consultation with Fam as most of the pitches would be unplayable during the rainy season.

“We noted that we need to change the calendar but that has to be done gradually. It is because most stadia and road network cannot allow teams to play whenever there are rains,” Banda said.

Additionally, Banda said about three matches were affected during the 2024 season due to heavy rains.

“Generally, looking at the weather in Malawi, when we are starting in April [and running the league] to December, not many games are postponed.

“Just last week in Zambia, the game between the Scorchers and Zambia was postponed due to heavy rains. Looking at those factors, we negotiated with Fam so that we maintain our calendar while we are considering changing it gradually,” he said.

Gomezgani Zakazaka

Fam Competitions and Communications Director Gomezgani Zakazaka confirmed that the change was for the TNM Super League only.

The season is expected to kick off on March 29 with the Charity Shield match between Silver and Mighty Wanderers and will immediately be followed by the start of the league on April 5.

The Airtel Top 8 competition will kick off a week later.

The season would conclude on February 28 with the Castel Challenge Cup final.

Meanwhile, clubs have said the prolonged season could have several repercussions on them.

The clubs said the prolonged season could also fuel contractual disputes between them and players.

Creck Chairperson Muhamad Selemani said Sulom should do more to level the playing field.

“We are not satisfied with how the fixtures are handled. For example, several clubs complained of playing four consecutive matches at home. We hope this will be addressed before the season starts,” Selemani said.

During the meeting, Ronald Chiwaula was confirmed as Sulom Vice President after he was nominated by all the clubs.