Win In Africa With Africa

The Flames (Malawi National Team) camped in Denmark. While in Denmark, they played 4 games against Danish clubs. Here are the results:

Malawi 0 HB Koge (Super League) 1
Malawi 2 Avarta (2nd Division) 2
Malawi 4 Vejle Boldklub (1st Division) 1
Malawi 4 Terring IF (2nd Division ) 2

The Flames play against Guinea on September 5, 2009 at Kamuzu Stadium , Blantyre, Malawi. It will be interesting to see who will be called into camp for the Guinea game. All the players who camped in Denmark play for Malawi local clubs. However, in all past competitive games, the team was full of foreign based players. Should the players be invited based on merit and not past glory? Is it true that players are picked for games based on how they perform in Camp/practice? If that’s the case then Eboue should always be in the starting line up at Arsenal.

Josephy Kamwendo may be warming the bench at Orlando Pirates (South Africa) but IMHO, he’s still much better than the local players (same position) who camped in Denmark. There is a serious problem at the moment as far as home players are concerned. Majority of the home-based players lack the requisite quality required of national team players. The national team is for already-made players and not to train players. Players need to be trained at their respective clubs.

I applaud FIFA for the “Win in Africa With Africa” initiative. According to the Daily Times, in a meeting held in Blantyre, Malawi on Wednesday, August 26, 2009, FIFA envoy Ben Kofie said FIFA has shifted from the usual style of dealing with Football Associations and now wants to work directly with clubs.

The consultant said FIFA recognizes the role played by clubs hence the need to have clubs that are run professionally.

He, however, said FIFA would only come in to help clubs if they show that they are willing to be helped.

“All along we have been dealing with the FA, but we realize that football at national level cannot develop if the clubs are not run professionally,” he said.

“FIFA is not happy with the way clubs are being run. Clubs are not managed properly as a result it backfires on the national team.”

Mr. Kofie also said that despite having vast talent, Africa still faces a challenge of remaining underperformer due to poor management of the clubs.

“We always boast that we have talent. So what? Having talent is not enough, how we manage the talent at club level is what matters,” he said.

The expert said boasting that you have talent is like someone who keeps saying he has gold and that once it is mined things would change.

At the same meeting he condemned juju beliefs (World Cup and Juju Men):

“Up to now some clubs believe in juju. This is blocking football development in Africa. We have to move away from the belief in juju. The clubs say they don’t have money, but they can manage to hire a juju man. All the little money that comes in goes to the juju man. And when juju is not done, there is low morale,” he said.

“At the end of the day, the juju belief is also practiced at national level. The problem is we would like to win yet we do not want to prepare and there are no development programs. In Africa we like short cuts forgetting that success does not come easily.”

Word up! Success doesn’t come easily.

“What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better.” – Wendell Phillips (1811 – 1884)