By Michael Kachitsa The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA, the world’s football governing body, decided to stage an international men’s football tournament under the era of FIFA president Jules Rimet who put this idea into place. The inaugural edition, held in 1930, was contested as a final tournament of only thirteen teams invited by the organization. Since then, the World Cup has experienced successive expansions and format remodeling, with its current 32-team final tournament preceded by a two-year qualifying process, involving over 200 teams from around the world. In 1930, FIFA made the decision to stage their own international tournament. The 1932 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, did not plan to include football as part of the programme due to the low popularity of the sport in the United States. FIFA and the IOC also disagreed over the status of amateur players, and so football was dropped from the Games.[8] FIFA president Jules Rimet thus set about organizing the inaugural World Cup tournament. With Uruguay now two-time official world champions and due to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, FIFA named Uruguay as the host country Source- Wikipedia
Category: Sports
Pfaffing about
By Michael Kachitsa Your country is at the World Cup and has just reached the second round, thanks mainly to a fine victory over Argentina. The obvious thing to do, as the tournament enters its latter stages, is drop your goalkeeper, who is commonly regarded as one of the best in the world. Right? Well that’s what Belgium did in 1982 and, if you consult summaries of the tournament, you’ll see that the odd reason usually given for the sudden demotion of Jean-Marie Pfaff is that the manager, Guy Thys, was punishing the goalkeeper for pretending to drown in the hotel swimming pool. So far, so petty. But there was a little more to it than that, though pettiness remains a prominent driver of the story. Pfaff arrived at the World Cup having just sealed a transfer from Beveren to Bayern Munich. His reputation was growing but his popularity with national teammates was not. His perceived cockiness irritated them. While in Spain for the World Cup, the Belgium management arranged a poolside bash at the team’s hotel to which the country’s media were invited. The country’s best-known radio commentator, Jan Wauters, was there and, being a close friend of Thys, he felt sufficiently at ease to play a merry prank: so he crept up behind Pfaff and pushed him into the pool. “Hehehe!” went the revellers … until a problem became apparent: the goalkeeper couldn’t swim. After being rescued, Pfaff was furious, with the players and with the manager, whose buddy went unreprimanded. When the press later asked Pfaff about his near-drowning, he played it down and said he had been only pretending to be in distress. Ill-feeling undoubtedly remained, however, and led to certain interpretations being put on subsequent events. In the 62nd minute of the last group game, against Hungary, Pfaff came to cut out a cross and inadvertently clobbered his captain, Eric Gerets. The full-back, who lay motionless on the pitch for about a minute before he was eventually substituted. An ambulance was called. It did not arrive until after the match and when the concussed Gerets was taken to it, there was no room for him … because Pfaff had got there first, complaining of a shoulder injury. Off sped the ambulance without Gerets, leaving the aggrieved captain and his chums outraged. Pfaff’s wound turned out to be only minor but resentment towards him was major. Thys chose to leave him out for the next match and picked Theo Custers instead. Belgium were beaten 3-0 by Poland but rather than recall Pfaff for the make-or-break clash with the USSR, Thys turned to his third-choice keeper, Jacques Munaron. Belgium lost 1-0. Gone were their hopes of making a big splash in the tournament.
FAM launches Ipatse Moto Flames competition
By Arkangel Tembo Blantyre, Mana: Football Association of Malawi’s (FAM) Flames Resource Mobilization Taskforce on Monday embarked on another project to generate funds to enable the Flames participate in the 2021-22 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon. During a function at Mpira offices in Blantyre, FAM launched the second phase of the ‘Ipatse Moto Flames’ fundraising campaign. According to the Publicity Secretary for the Taskforce, TulipoMwenelupembe, the project is targeting about K60 million in the whole initiative, adding that chances to beat the target are also very high. Mwenelupembe said the promotion will require participants to send a text message worth K50 to stand a chance of winning weekly prizes of five Flames replica jerseys and monthly prizes of three deep refrigerators. The grand draw will take place on December 30 where the overall winner will go home with a Toyota Sienta. To enter the promotion subscribers will send a short code of *3089# on both Airtel and TNM networks.
All set for karate championship in Blantyre, Malawi
By Moses Nyirenda Lilongwe, Mana: One of the Karate schools in the country, Karate Zen Malawi is set to host a karate championship slated for November 7, 2021 at College of Medicine Sports Complex in Blantyre. In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Tuesday, Coordinator for the championship, Sensei (Instructor) Joseph Kawerama said that the tournament has been organized with an aim of promoting karate sport in the country. “Karate has been practiced in the country for long time but not much has been done to nurture talent or to expose those that have the hunger and ability to present what Karate is all about. “The country has potential but we let it fade so this time around we want Karate to wave high the Malawian flag. We want Malawi to be a part of the Karate games within the SADC region and all around the world,” Kawerama said. He added that the karate athletes whose karate styles are registered under World Karate Federation (KWF) are those eligible for the championship and these include; Shotokan, Guju Ryu, Shito Ryu and Wadu Ryu karate. He also said that, the tournament is open to all qualified karate practitioners starting from the age of six upwards. During the competition, he said the competitors will be in group according to their age, gender as well as belt ranking and these athletes will compete in Kata (demonstration of basics) and kumite (freestyle fighting). He however said participants are asked to pay a participation fee of K8, 000 for those that would like to participate in one activity such as Kata only or Kumite only and K10, 000 for those who would like to participate in both categories. In his remarks, Lilongwe based Shotokan Karate Instructor Sensei Andrew Mwampita commended Karate Zen Malawi for organizing the karate championship. “Karate championship games are much important because they help karatekas (karate athletes) train hard and improve their skills, thereby improving our karate standards as a country to the highest levels. “Hence I am commending the organizers of the forthcoming karate championship and I also believe that through the championship, we karatekas will be able to create a national karate team that would put Malawi on international map,” Mwampita said. He also said that, the championship will also help the public to understand the true meaning of karate saying that most of the people think that karate is for unruly behaviors. “Karate is a Japanese martial art which has 5 pillars and these are; seek perfection of the character, be faithful, endeavor to excel, respect others and refrain from violent behavior and these pillars make karate athletes to be disciplined. “However, many people think that karate is about violence and robbery, therefore the championship will also help people to understand the true meaning of karate based on its pillars,” he said.
Civo Service United Club calls for trials
By Andrew Khabwira Lilongwe, Mana: As one way of unearthing local talent from youthful prayers Civil Service Football Club has organized a four days of trials from 13 to 20 October, to recruit new football players. In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Monday, Coach Joel Kachulu said that the main aim of conducting the trials is to promote young footballers to beef up his squad “The main aim of this trials is to recruit successful football players to beef up the squad and our focus is to win Airtel top 8,” Kachulu said. He added that he hoped the trial will produce good players who will be selected to join the Lilongwe based super league outfit. “So far we are expecting good performance from the selected players who will hit the final stage as they join other players who are preparing for Airtel top 8” he added. The coach also urged players to desist themselves from unhealthy behavior in indulging themselves but rather he advised prayers to focus on nurturing their talents. In a separate interview, Tumeyo Kachingwe 20, from Lumbadzi, who is participating for trials said he dream of becoming a superstar footballer. “Actually I was motivated by Gabadinho Mhango and Christian Ronaldo, my dream is to be a footballer and through this Club I believe my skills and tactics will improve,” Kachingwe said. He urged his fellow youthful players to avoid smoking and drinking alcohol saying such habits have the potential to ruin their football career.
How much do Footballers in lower leagues earn
By Michael Kachitsa The debate on footballer wages will never end. When it comes to the highest-paid earners at clubs such as Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, salaries are sky high compared to some of their Championship rivals. When players are earning close to £80,000 per week, it makes you think. The average YEARLY Championship wage back in 2006 was around £150,000. That works out at around £3,000 per week – still an extraordinary salary compared to your average Joe in the United Kingdom.In the Championship the average salary is between £7,500 and £8,500 a week. The top players in the Championship can earn around £80,000 a week. Championship football players are getting paid on average around £25,000 per week. The top, highest-paid, players in the championship can earn close to £80,000 per week. The average salary in League One is around £2,100 per week. The average League Two is around £1,400 per week. The average salary in League One is between £1,700 and £2,500, and in League Two it’s between £1,300 and £1,500
Mzuzu Golf Club refurbished
By Blessings Kaunda Mzuzu, Mana: Mzuzu Golfers can now breathe a sigh of relief following plans Sunbird Hotel have put in place to refurbish Mzuzu Golf Club after three years of dormancy a situation which let down golfers. In an interview with Mana on Monday, Mzuzu Golf Club President, Lieutenant Kenal Chazema said the golf has been dormant for three years. “When I got my presidency of the club this has been one of my objectives to revive Mzuzu Golf Club which has not been active for some time,” Chazama said. He said it is very worrisome to see other people who are encroaching in the golf course, a development he said has lowered the standard to the sport. He said however said it is time now to change things for the better and urged stakeholders to support the improvement of the golf course. “As you may be aware that there is a lot of encroachment for the golf course so it is up run to fence the whole golf course to make sure that only golf takes place. The program has already started with the help of Mzuzu Sunbird,” he added. Chazema disclosed that soon they will organize a social golf tournaments so as to promote the sport by reviving and unearthing the hidden talent which was in the past years. He said through the tournament young boys who used to play football will be given balls as a way of also promoting young footballer. “Boys who like playing football in the golf course will be allowed to play football in the football but not in golf club but rather at the football ground. Mzuzu Golf Club Captain, Chrispin Mphande attributed the inactiveness of golfers to the transfer of power from Mzuzu Golf Club to Sunbird. “Two things made Mzuzu Golf Club to be dormant for quite some time. First part of it was time when there was transfer of powers from us as Mzuzu Golf Club to Sunbird. Sunbird took over and now they were going into logistics on how best to work on the golf course. “Second part of it was Covid-19. The business affected Sunbird so they didn’t put much effort to the golf course. They put much emphasis on refurbishing the golf club. So they spent more time from the golf club and then started the perimeter wall so working in the golf course itself delayed for almost two years,” Mphande said. He said Sunbird has now taken over of Mzuzu Golf Club including the maintenance of the golf course and construction of the perimeter wall. Mphande said he is very much hopeful of reviving gold in Mzuzu saying the number of people willing to learn golf is now increasing. “This is giving us the morale that they will have a lot of golfers from the North and build a strong team,” he said. Mzuzu Golf Club on Saturday played Social Golf Tournament where they started with nine horse and next Saturday they will play eighteen horse.
Patrick Viera
By Michael Kachitsa Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football head coach and former player. Considered one of the best players of his generation, Vieira began his career at Cannes in 1994, where several standout performances in his debut season garnered him a move to Serie A club Milan a year later. His single season in Italy was marred due to limited playing time, and he featured mainly for the reserve team. This allowed him to relocate to England, in order to join countryman Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, for a fee of £3.5 million in 1996. During his nine-year stint in the Premier League, Vieira established himself as a dominating box-to-box midfielder, noted for his aggressive and highly competitive style of play, an attitude that also helped him excel as captain of the club from 2002 until his departure in 2005. He was named in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year for six consecutive years from 1999 to 2004. He helped Arsenal achieve a sustained period of success during his time at the club, where he lifted three FA Cups and three league titles, including one unbeaten. He then returned to Italy, playing for Juventus, but quickly departed after the club sustained relegation for their part in a match-fixing scandal. He then signed for Inter Milan, where he consecutively won four league titles, before featuring for Manchester City, where he won another FA Cup before retiring in 2011. Vieira featured at senior level for much of his international career, representing France over a period of 12 years, where he also spent some part as captain. He played in the final in his nation’s victorious campaign at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and featured heavily as the team also won Euro 2000. Despite also playing a key role in the side that finished runners-up in the 2006 World Cup, Vieira was used sparingly by France in the latter stages of his career, and he retired from international competition in 2010, after amassing 107 appearances for the side. Following retirement, Vieira transitioned into coaching, where he took charge of the academy at Manchester City in 2013. He would depart two years later, after signing for sister club New York City. His arrival in Major League Soccer (MLS) saw the team adopt a free-flowing, attacking, press-based system, which gained him many plaudits, and garnered him a move back to his homeland to manage Ligue 1 club Nice in 2018, marking his first managerial role in Europe.
Dedza Dynamos FC edging closer to promotion
By George Mponda Dedza, Mana: Dedza Dynamos Football Club has tightened their grip on pole position of the Central Region Chipiku Premier Division following their victory over Silver Strikers Reserves on Sunday. Dedza Dynamos won the match 0-1 at Silver Strikers Stadium in Area 47 in Lilongwe through a lone goal scored by Charles Chipala. In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana), Coach for Dedza Dynamos, Christopher Zinyongo said they have set their eyes firmly on the prize and they would give it their all to earn promotion. “The game against Silver Reserves was a very tough one because they are a good side but due to our resilience we managed to win the match. All our focus is on the next game until we finish our mission with the remaining three games and earn promotion,” he said. The Coach will have to depend Dedza fans when they will be playing the remaining three fixtures of which two will be played at Dedza Stadium promising to return Super League action in the district. “We are thankful for the support which we have been receiving thus far from fans from all over the country in a special way let me appreciate the support which the team has been receiving from Lewis Yumbe, the Club Chairman who has invested a lot into the team for it to be where we are now,” Zinyongo added. In a separate interview, National Team player, Robin Ngalande who has been having light trainings with Dedza Dynamos whilst recovering from his injury said it was no surprise that the team was performing the way they are. “They have a very good structure and they are a focused team which is well disciplined and they train hard which clearly shows they have a goal which they want to achieve. With the cream which they have in their squad, without a doubt am sure they will emerge champions of the Chipiku Premier Division and earn promotion to the elite league which will please a lot of people here in Dedza,” he said. Currently, Dedza Dynamos are on first position having played seven games have 16 points followed by Extreme FC with 12 points and Silver Strikers Reserves are third with 10 points. Airborne Rangers are fourth with nine points while Wimbe United are fifth with five points and Green Rangers are sixth with four points.
The History Brighton Hove Albion FC
By Michael Kachitsa The club was founded in already in 1901, originally as Brighton & Hove United but soon changing to its current name. They started to compete in Southern League which they won once in 1910. The same year they won FA Charity Shield. They became a member of the Football League in 1920, when the Third Division was established. It wasn’t until the 1957-1958 season that the club won the Third Division and finally was promoted to the Second Division. The club would fall down to the Fourth Division in the 1960s. Better days came during the 1970s when the club first was promoted to Second Division and some years later, in 1979, for the first time to the First Division. After falling to the bottom of the league system in the 1990s, they started to climb and their first appearance in the top flight after the name change to Premier League happened after winning the Championship in 2017. Since 2011, Brighton & Hove play at the Falmer Stadium, which has due to sponsorship reasons been referred to as American Express Community Stadium or Amex Stadium. The English football club Brighton & Hove Albion became a member of the Football League in 1920. A 13th place in Division 1 in 1982 is so far the best result. They reached the FA Cup final in 1983 and lost against Manchester United.