Munthali’s eligibility questioned
Nkana say claims that defender Christopher Munthali is ineligible to play in the 2014 CAF Champions League are baseless.
Media reports from Swaziland have stated that Mbabane Swallows are preparing a case against Nkana for fielding Munthali and another unnamed player following their 5-4 aggregate preliminary round elimination at the hands of the Zambian champions.
Nkana secretary Ken Mwansa told MTNFootball.com that Munthali was eligible to play for his club in the competition and also denied allegations in Swazi media that the Zambia international defender was only registered after the January 15 deadline.
Munthali is entering his second season on loan to Nkana from their Kitwe arch-rivals and neighbours Power Dynamos.
“The truth of the matter is we registered him way in advance before 25th December. The only player we registered late was Bruce Musakanya but even Bruce his registration was before the January 15 deadline,” Mwansa said.
“And the cards came out without any queries of any anomaly and we received confirmation from CAF.”
Musakanya arrived on loan this year from Red Arrows but has not featured for Nkana due to fitness problems.
“If they are alleging that we illegally registered him are they saying we connived with CAF to have him registered late?” Mwansa said.
“The truth of the matter was registered before December 25.
“The defeat was quite painful, I mean, leading literally 3-0 and to lose in that manner, they just want to justify their defeat.”
Swallows are reportedly citing Article 26 of the 2014 CAF Champions League Regulations to push for a nullification of their preliminary round exit result at the hands of Nkana.
Article 26 states: “A player is not qualified to play in the CAF Champions League in case he was registered with a club and then loaned by this club to another one unless he was registered again in the second period of registration.”
Swallows beat Nkana 2-0 in the first leg on February 9 in Manzini before the Zambian club overturned that result at home in Kitwe in dramatic fashion winning 5-2 on February 15 to advance to the first round.
Meanwhile, the eligibility storm comes as Nkana prepare to host KCCA of Uganda this Saturday in Kitwe in a CAF Champions League first round, first leg game.
mtnfootball.com