Haiya Hits Back at Critics Over Women’s Football Management

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) President Fleetwood Haiya has strongly defended the association’s handling of women’s football, dismissing allegations that FAM is sidelining the National Women’s Football Association and warning against attempts to tarnish the organization’s reputation.

Haiya’s response comes after vocal women’s football official Isaac Jomo Osman released a viral voice note on social media accusing FAM leadership of “stealing the spotlight” from the Women’s Football Association and its president, Adelaide Migogo.

MORE NEWS FROM WAMPIRA

Osman, who owns Kukoma Ntopwa FC, launched a scathing attack on FAM’s leadership, claiming the association was hijacking responsibilities that belong to the women’s FA.

“You are running away from your responsibilities of revamping men’s national team and instead you are stealing the show from the women’s FA, in particular its president Adelaide Migogo,” Osman said in the emotional voice note.

He accused FAM of deliberately refusing to recognize Migogo because she did not support current leadership during elections.

“What did Adela Migogo wrong you? Why are you mistreating this woman? You are evil [and] should be embarrassed,” he said.

Osman also criticized FAM’s celebration of the Scorchers’ qualification to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, arguing that the association was taking credit while neglecting the pioneers of women’s football.

“Now you are celebrating [the Scorchers’ qualification to Women’s Africa Cup of Nations]. What are you celebrating when you are not helping women’s football? It’s a shame,” he said.

He went further to suggest that if FAM intended to control all women’s football operations, it should abolish the Women’s Football Association altogether.

“We will not tolerate this nonsense. In fact, women’s football is facing several challenges because of your greed. Why are you oppressing women? We won’t tolerate such kind of leaders,” Osman added.

Responding to the allegations, Haiya dismissed the claims as misinformation designed to create confusion within Malawian football.

“There are some people who think they can blackmail FAM, but not with this president. I will make sure that we clean our football,” Haiya said.

The FAM president clarified the administrative structure of women’s football in the country, emphasizing that the Scorchers fall directly under FAM’s mandate as a national team.

“The Scorchers are a national team, while the Women’s Football Association is a body under FAM, just as the Super League of Malawi operates under the association,” Haiya explained.

He also addressed claims that Migogo was being sidelined, providing examples of her involvement in recent women’s football activities.

According to Haiya, Migogo was part of the Scorchers delegation that traveled to Morocco for international friendlies and also accompanied Ntopwa Kukoma Queens to South Africa for this year’s COSAFA CAF Women’s Champions League qualifiers.

Haiya further clarified that it was FAM that secured the sponsorship for the NBM Women’s Premiership, countering suggestions that credit was being wrongly attributed.

The FAM president stressed that his administration’s focus remains on transforming football in Malawi through transparency and professionalism.

“My goal in joining FAM remains the same: to transform football in this country. We want transparency, professionalism, and unity as we build a stronger football structure,” Haiya said.

He called on all football stakeholders to prioritize collaboration over division, insisting that FAM’s mission is to create an inclusive and well-governed environment for both men’s and women’s football.