* The position fell vacant after the earlier vice-president Colonel Gilbert Mittawa ascended to the position of president
* Following Fleetwood Haiya being elected as Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president
Maravi Express
At its meeting held yesterday June 7 at Sunbird Lilongwe Hotel, the executive committee of the Super League of Malawi (SULOM) made some resolutions that included appointing Ronald Chiwaula as the new vice-president.
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The position fell vacant after the earlier vice-president Colonel Gilbert Mittawa ascended to the position of president following Fleetwood Haiya being elected Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president.
According to a press statement that SULOM has issued, “Chiwaula has been an integral part of Malawian football administration and brings with him a vast wealth of experience and dedication to the game of football”.
The SULOM executive further say they expect Chiwaula’s expertise to be crucial in supporting Mittawa “as they work towards achieving their strategic goals for the league’s development”.
“This appointment is a significant step for SULOM as it continues to enhance its governance structures and drive forward its mission of promoting and developing football in Malawi.
“The executive committee is confident that Chiwaula’s leadership will contribute positively to the league’s growth and success.”
SULOM president Mittawa
Chiwaula is quoted as saying: “I’m very humbled for the trust that my fellow Executive Members have put on me. I will make sure that the new Super League agenda of Revive, Reform and Rebrand — the Triple R — is flying high as the country is in pursuit of football transformation.”
Other resolutions include comprehensively review of the TNM Super League 2024 fixture — to be released by Friday June 14 that will take into consideration of all concerns raised by clubs.
The committee also reviewed and approved its sub-committees for 2024/25, that include fixtures committee with inclusion of IT experts and statisticians, among others; disciplinary; appeals; marketing & commercialisation; strategic planning & development; safety & security; constitutional review (ad-hoc); and finance & audit.
SULOM says names of the members of the sub-committees will be announced upon finalisation of appointment and engagement letters.
SULOM executive committee
Meanwhile, SULOM also announced this week that it has released the first tranche of the TNM subvention funds to all the 16 teams in the Super League.
Each team is supposed to get a total of K20 million towards subvention funds with half of that money from sponsors TNM while the other half is from FAM.
SULOM has this disbursed K5 million to each club from the K10 million they are to receive from sponsors TNM with the second trance of the funds expected to be paid in the second round.
Recently the league governing body paid the teams K5million each which is FAM subvention funds and in total the teams have received K10 million each.
“Sponsors, TNM Plc have for the past 17 years generously offered financial support to the elite league,” SULOM said in their statement. “Demonstrating their unwavering commitment to the development and promotion of football in Malawi, TNM increased the sponsorship to a whooping K500 million in the 2024 season from K150 million last season.
“The subvention funds are expected to significantly aid the clubs in enhancing the overall competitiveness of the league. The financial injection will empower the clubs to perform at their highest potential, providing thrilling and high-quality football for fans across the nation.”
Meanwhile, the TNM Super League has been on a break following the FIFA international window to pave way for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualifiers in which Malawi hosted and beat São Tomé e Príncipe 3-1 at Bingu National Stadium on Thursday.
The Flames, who are third in Group H with six points, flew out yesterday heading for Malabo to meet Equatorial Guinea on Monday and according to FAM, the Flames spent the night in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia before proceeding to Malabo.
They are one point behind Namibia — who drew 1-1 with Liberia on Wednesday and three behind leaders Tunisia, who beat Equatorial Guinea 1-0 also played on Wednesday while São Tomé and the Equatoguineans do not have any point in these FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualifiers.
Only the leaders of each of the nine groups will qualify for the finals to be jointly hosted by USA, Mexico and Canada, while the four best second-placed teams from all nine groups will engage in a continental playoff, determining a single victor who will then proceed to a second and final playoff.
This final stage will comprise six teams from various confederations, with the top two emerging as qualified participants, ultimately making up the 48 competing teams.
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