Little-known Nigerian striker Babatunde Adepoju hopes to sneak into the Flames’ squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals scheduled for Cameroon from next month.
Representatives of the player have since told Weekend Nation newspaper of Malawi that Babatunde has applied for dual citizenship in Malawi in order to realise his dream of playing for the Flames.
“Before we submit the application for citizenship, we are supposed to submit some supporting documents and that is what is being worked on now. But there has not been much progress yet. We hope FAM and government will help us fast-track the process,” the representative is quoted saying.
Football Association of Malawi president Walter Nyamilandu told Weekend Nation that coach Mario Marinica had expressed interest in the towering Nigerian.
Nyamilandu told the newspaper that the Romanian Marinica, whose substantive position is technical director, was impressed by Babatunde’s performance when he scored all four goals for Bullets in the 4-1 win over Mighty Wanderers in the Airtel Top 8 semifinals earlier this month.
“Yes, we are facilitating his citizenship application with the Department of Immigration. The TD expressed interest for him to join the squad after being impressed with his performance during the derby,” Nyamilandu is quoted saying.
The Flames have since left for Saudi Arabia for the final phase of preparations for AFCON and Nyamilandu said time was running out.
“He will need to be assessed in Saudi Arabia if he is cleared in good time,” he is quoted saying.
Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services spokesperson Wellingtone Chiponde told the newspaper that Section 13 of the Citizenship Act of the Laws of Malawi says a person from a Commonwealth country may be registered as a citizen of Malawi upon meeting some conditions.
“The person should be ordinarily resident in Malawi, and should have been a resident for a period of five years; should have adequate knowledge of at least one of the prescribed vernacular languages or the English language,” he said.
The 27-year plays for Malawi league and Airtel Top 8 champions, Nyasa Big Bullets, having joined earlier this year from rivals Mighty Wanderers.
Babatunde made a name at the now defunct Masters Security FC in Lilongwe when he led them to Carlsberg Cup win after beating Wanderers on post-match penalties three years ago.