By Richard Chirombo & Peter Fote:
The Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has been stopped from getting air tickets on credit from travel agency Blueberry after accumulating K415 million debt in six months, Times Sport has learnt.
Sources indicated that Fam has been barred from buying air tickets on credit due to the government’s failure to release funds in time.
The source alleged that the amount accumulated from September.
“The debt is long overdue and the figures are now blowing up. The supplier suspended credit services with Fam.
“As things stand, the agent wants to be working on cash basis only,” the source said.
The source alleged that Fam assured the firm that it would settle the debt once the association received funds from the government.
When contacted, Blueberry Branch Manager Bharat Makhija could neither confirm nor deny the matter.
“This is confidential information and is not meant for public purposes. Maybe contact Fam,” he said.
However, Fam General Secretary Alfred Gunda demanded that we reveal the source of the story before he could comment on the issue.
“Is this from Blueberry? It helps us to know the angle of response,” Gunda said.
Meanwhile, local analyst Kim Kamau has faulted Fam for spending money unnecessarily.
“Let us be honest. Fam has been getting funds from Fifa and Caf [Confederation of African Football]. However, the association is spending a lot of resources on unnecessary engagements. If you consider all the activities that have taken place recently, you will not be surprised [that they are failing to settle the debt].
“There are fears that Fam is using resources to please affiliates and its involvement in elections is questionable and, at the same time, draining resources,” he said.
In a related development, the Malawi National Football Team is expected to face Comoros in an African Nations Championship encounter at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday.
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