Uncle Harvest on CAF'S DECISION ON BINGU NATIONAL STADIUM

Now that the Confederation of African Football(CAF) has turned down the appeal by the Football Association of Malawi ((FAM) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, to reconsider it's ban on the use of Bingu National Stadium for it's competitions, we the barefoot citizens of this country do not expect to see the government stopping the rehabilitation works that were in progress.

The standards that CAF demanded for the Stadium are the same standards that we the barefoot citizens of this country want for our players from Mtandire and Mtsiliza.

It is therefore our expectation that Bingu National Stadium and Kamuzu Stadiums must always be kept at international standard levels.

Malawians will be deprived of international football matches due to the negligence of the managers of these Stadiums. It is not a hidden secret that millions of kwachas have been spent in the past six years in the rehabilitation of Kamuzu Stadium, rehabilitations that never brought about any visible infrastructural improvements to the Stadium.

It is also a known fact that the Chinese, as part of the construction agreement of the Bingu National Stadium sent a group of 10 government officials for a month long training in stadium management.

None of those 10 officials were deployed to manage the Stadium upon return from China.

Let it therefore be emphasized that the blame for this quarmire is not on CAF. FAM, the Sports Council and Ministry of Sports bare the full brat of this.

It would not be demanding too much if Malawians demanded an apology from these institutions for gross negligence of duty towards Mother Malawi.

The other demand is that the BNS should be open for use by Malawians. Infrastructure that is not put to use deteriorates fast than that which is being used.

The Stadium was built for Malawians to use not to admire as they drive past by.

The demand for mindset change that has been so much talked about is simply this; Barefooted Malawians do not want a standard of Stadium pitches that are less than what CAF and FIFA want.

What is not good for CAF and FIFA is not good for Malawians.