Sometimes in order to be heard you need to speak up.

It is a pity that sometimes Malawi government makes last minute decisions that put Malawi football under panick.

Of course, government is not only to blame because of its haphazard decisions but some of us also know that the game has been hijacked by opportunists from within and outside football administration.

This new breed of administrators, with their well cut suits and richly embroidered robes, is always at home in luxury hotels and round conference tables; least on the pitch. To them, when it comes to money, words like shame and dishonour seem to have lost their meaning.

Government's last minute change of tune for the Flames to participate in the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup has obviously put Coach Kinnah Phiri in dilemma.

After Cecafa included the Flames as guests, government advised Fam to pull out due to financial constraints.

But suddenly, Sports Minister Vuwa Kaunda said there was no way government would not let the Flames participate at the tournament.

This means that the team will have only a week to prepare.

Such shoddy preparations come with costs. To expect a rusty team like the Flames to train for a week and play for such an energy sapping tournament like Cecafa, is a joke.

Flames need to join tournaments to compete and underline their supremacy not just for the sake of participating.

Malawians need a team that can put smiles on the faces of happiness-starved citizens and placate them from the traumatic and embarrassing eliminated from the Africa Nation Cup race by lowly ranked Tchad in Ndjamena.

It is a fact that without proper preparations Flames should anticipate a tough tournament in Tanzania.

However, at least, participating in such tournaments gives grounds for hope for the team's future.

As Kinnah and his charges would be busy fighting for honours in Tanzania, Malawians need to know that the only way the gap between them and other countries like Zambia will ever be bridged is by going back to first principles, and governing in the interests of the game.

But as it is an organised mafia has hijacked Malawi football squeezing out those who have fought for years, for the game's future.