The FDH Bank Premiership early break ahead of the official Fifa international window has sparked debate, with clubs questioning the timing and analysts describing the arrangement as old-fashioned.

The top-flight league has gone into a break after the completion of Week 19 action, seven days before the Fifa-sanctioned international window.

The window is scheduled to start on November 9.

The league is expected to resume on November 21.

Unlike in several other leagues, where matches are expected to continue into the midweek and weekend before the upcoming Fifa window, the Malawi league has decided to go to bed early.

However, the Super League of Malawi (Sulom) insists that the break is intended to give the Malawi National Football Team ample time to prepare for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers against Egypt.

Despite the early break, the Flames rely mainly on foreign country-based players.

For instance, the Flames’ 31-member squad for the September Afcon qualifiers included 19 foreign country-based players, with only 12 Malawi-based players making the cut.

FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Chief Executive Officer Albert Chigoga said there was a need to have matches this weekend.

“In other leagues, they will have matches. We would have loved to have matches this week but we respect the decision,” Chigoga said.

Creck Sporting Club Chairperson Muhammad Selemani said the early break would affect his team.

“I would have loved to have matches this weekend before the Fifa break. We will be affected, in terms of our performance, because we have been in form,” Selemani said.

Sulom Vice General Secretary Donnex Chilonga defended the decision.

“Actually, this is not an early break. If you make a good count of the remaining days before the Flames engage with Egypt, this is the appropriate time for our league to break so that we give ample time to the Flames, in terms of having preparations,” he said.

Football analysts Anthony Isaiah and Tadala Manda described the arrangement as old-fashioned, saying Malawi needed to modernise its football calendar to align with practices in established leagues.

“It shows that we are progressing backwards, looking at how we have approached this international break.

“Most Flames players are foreign country-based. Obviously, they will only be available after the Fifa break, which makes the early break not that important to the team,” Manda said.

The Flames will face the Pharaohs in a Group B encounter on November 13, when they will meet in Cairo, before hosting them on November 17 at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe City.