Former Orlando Pirates star Kamwendo lands new job

Former Orlando Pirates star Joseph Kamwendo has found a new job back home in Malawi although it appears a downgrade.

The ex-Flames star, who holds a CAF B Licence, has taken over Mchinji Villa FC, who campaign in the second-tier league of Malawi.

The strugglers, who have just collected three points this far, opted for the Mchinji-born Kamwendo as a replacement for Elias Phiri who got the sack after a poor run of results.

Addressing Villa players and officials, the 2005/06 Zimbabwe Soccer- Star-of-the-Year admitted that accepting the job with the little-known team was difficult for him

He said: “It wasn’t an easy decision for me to accept this job, but having realised that the coaching panel has a childhood team mate, I felt obliged to come here and give back to my community.”

The 38-year-old said his target was to ensure Villa earn promotion to the Super League. That seems a tall order for a team lying second from the bottom of the 12-member NBS National Football League with three points from six games

The former TP Mazembe playmaker has accepted the Villa job even though it appears a demotion for someone who was in charge of Malawi’s top-flight league teams, Bangwe All Stars FC last season and Creck Sporting Club this campaign, until two months ago.

The Lilongwe-based Creck sacked Kamwendo due to underwhelming performances in the TNM Super League, opting to hire experienced Elia Kananji.