Malawi want qualifier
against Nigeria switched
By Frank Kandu
BBC Sport, Blantyre
The Football Association of
Malawi (FAM) has written
to Fifa to ask for their
decisive Group F World
Cup qualifier against
Nigeria to be moved from
Calabar.
The FAM is also unhappy
with the appointment of
Hamada el Moussa
Nampiandraza as referee
for the match.
Malawi trail Nigeria by
two points and must win
to progress to the play-
offs.
Belgian coach Tom
Saintifiet (pictured), who
volunteered to lead the
Flames against the Super
Eagles, told local media
this week that he is not
comfortable with the
match being played in
Calabar.
"Nigeria would like to play
in Calabar because it is
close to Cameroon in the
south-east of Nigeria - not
so easy to reach with the
only connection via Lagos
and Abuja but with no
international flights," he
said.
"There are not so many
hotels available so it will
be very difficult to get
there. I have one question
also about security
because the UK's Foreign &
Commonwealth Office says
it is a no-travel area.
"Fifa they may have to
think of shifting the match
either to Abuja or to
another place outside
Nigeria because Calabar is
obviously not the capital
and it is not a big city. The
accommodation is not
good for such a big game.
"But I think it is also a plan
by Nigeria. They try to
disturb their opponents on
and off the pitch. So in all
the ways we must be
prepared as top
professionals to try to find
solutions and make good
plans."
FAM's letter to Fifa states:
"There is security risk in
Calabar where the match
will be played, as reported
by the Commonwealth
Commission. The venue of
the match is risky to our
delegation and we would
like Fifa to shift the match
to Abuja or to a neutral
country where our
delegation will be safe.
"Calabar has been flagged
as a high-risk security area
and this alert cannot be
taken lightly. Our Minister
of Sports will be part of
the travelling delegation
and we do not want to
take security risks by
travelling to Calabar."
FAM has also protested
over the appointment of
referee Nampiandraza,
who it believes gave a
"below par" performance
at the 2013 Africa Cup of
Nations.
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23655495

This guy must have been smoking something really bad for his brain. Calabar of all places, can they boast of a resort better than Obudu, na Cross River Tinapa dey o, God must punish this guy for me..! He should even be sued by the people of Cross River for this silly statement, I don't even know if he's planning to win the match before. Chai, Nigeria don suffer.

see dis mumu malawi coach na fear dey catch am so, anyways calabar or abuja we go still wipe them, but i for like make e be for my city calabar so that i go fit watch am live

I have heared about exam fever amongst all odds, but this is a chronic football fever!

ebamma:
Belgian coach Tom Saintifiet (pictured), who volunteered to lead the Flames against the Super Eagles, told local media this week that he is not comfortable with the match being played in Calabar.

"Nigeria would like to play in Calabar because it is close to Cameroon in the south-east of Nigeria - not so easy to reach with the only connection via Lagos and Abuja but with no international flights," he
said.

"There are not so many hotels available so it will be very difficult to get there. I have one question also about security because the UK's Foreign & Commonwealth Office says it is a no-travel area.

"Fifa they may have to think of shifting the match either to Abuja or to another place outside Nigeria because Calabar is obviously not the capital and it is not a big city. The accommodation is not good for such a big game.

Imagine folks whose largest city, Lilongwe is less than a million people grumbling about the size and infrastructure of Calabar?

No hotel in Calabar is good enough for the national team of Malawi? Why don't they go and lodge at the Waldorf Astoria and fly directly from New York to the football pitch in Nigeria on the day of the match?

This guy must be joking, Calabar of all places

This is at best laughable, did I hear him say no hotels, haha, is lilongwe as beautiful and organised as calabar? Perhaps he should do his findings and ask where previous qualifier matches have been played. Na wa oo, 9ja don suffer.

joecrack: This is at best laughable, did I hear him say no hotels, haha, is lilongwe as beautiful and organised as calabar? Perhaps he should do his findings and ask where previous qualifier matches have been played. Na wa oo, 9ja don suffer.

It's the fault of some Nigerians and Nigeria's premiere PR organization, Ghana plc, always disparaging anything Nigerian. so it is no wonder international organizations fear to find out things about Nigeria by actually going in person.

If you read the crap written about Nigeria on Nairaland for instance would you visit Nigeria?


People don't understand that those Nigerians who do disparage Nigeria often only do so because they are comparing Nigeria to the West. They don't understand that Nigeria is actually way ahead of most African nations.

They have already conceded defeat before the game proper.