Time and again have I heard this statement coming from Football Association of Malawi officials. It's a statement that they blat out without batting an eyelid whenever it comes to the association's finances.

Regrettably, when I ask why Fam is not poor yet the national team is always financially struggling, the explanation does not impress me.

They say Fam as an association is not poor. It gets annual funding from world football governing body Fifa, and its activities are always well funded.

The explanation behind this disparity is that the national team is government's responsibility, not Fam's.

Right now coach Kinnah Phiri is seething with rage because the Flames are training at a sodden Chiwembe Technical and Development Centre pitch in preparation for their first 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Apparently, the Flames have failed to train at the Kamuzu Stadium because there is no funding from government.

This is just a typical example of how Fam tends to behave as if they have nothing to do with the national team.

Despite the Football Association 'not being poor', it cannot spare some funds to buy fuel for the team to commute to and from the Kamuzu Stadium.

Fifa statutes say Fam is the only body mandated to oversee the sport of football in the country.

My understanding is that the mandate also embrace a responsibility of making sure the national team is funded to fulfil its international fixtures.

The funding should not solely be from government, it could be from the corporate world or some other revenue generating activities.

While conscious that government needs to be steadfast in making sure they provide funding for the national team, I think Fam can fund some of these small expenses rather than letting the team train at the Chiwembe ground.

Of course the resounding protestation from Chiwembe is that that Fam's funds are not meant for the national team.

Let it be known to Fam that there are other sports associations that get very little funding from government yet they represent Malawi using funds from other sources.

I have some very good examples from athletics, lawn tennis, boxing and swimming.

I wonder what would happen if they all had this approach that a national team is government's responsibility!

Why should we always hear Fam, like a baby crying for more funds yet it gets a lion's share from government's sports annual funding?

The problem of inadequate funding for the national team is not a phenomenon.

Fam knows the solution to this yet the association pays a blind eye to the problem and expects The Treasury to fund all the team's expenses.

One thing I have always stressed is that I will only applaud the current Fam executive as having succeeded once they find a permanent sponsor for the Flames.

May be then our national team players will not receive a meagre K30,000 for a win and K2,000 training allowance.

I have said it before and I'll say it again now. The very same companies that we have in this country are sponsoring national teams in Tanzania and Zambia; why is it that our FA fails to convince them to sponsor the Flames?

The Flames now have two weeks before they play Chad on February 28. Forget about the last week of the month because that's for travelling so actually the team, has just some ten days to prepare for Chad.

I don't think it would be fair to criticise the coach if the team that has been practicing on a muddy pitch not even fit for lower league games ends up losing in Chad where they will play on an artificial turf.