The Ministry of Youth and Sports has disclosed that 145 seats were damaged during the K320 million Ibongetse Castel Challenge Cup final between eventual winners FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and Silver Strikers at Bingu National Stadium (BNS) recently.
This follows an assessment conducted at the facility after the incident.
Spokesperson for the ministry Macmillan Mwale confirmed the development, saying they are shocked with the matter.
“We have established that 145 seats were damaged. Out of this, 65 were completely uprooted while 80 were extensively damaged. The actual cost of the damaged seats is yet to be established, as the ministry is in the process of sourcing quotations from suppliers,” Mwale said.
- Advertisement -
Mwale said the ministry would engage event organisers, Football Association of Malawi (Fam), to map the way forward and bring to book perpetrators so that the seats can be replaced.
- Advertisement -
“We are shocked with this kind of un-patriotism as this a national asset that we should be proud of and join hands in protecting jealously. It is time the citizenry embraced mindset change and looked at such public infrastructure as their own,” Mwale said.
According to Mwale, the ministry is still waiting for communication from Fam on the modalities that will be followed to fix the damaged seats.
This was the second incident at the venue in a space of three months after a total of 239 seats were also damaged during the opening match of the Airtel Top 8 Cup between Silver and Mighty Mukuru Wanderers.
Following the incident, Wanderers were fined K22 million for the damage.
- Advertisement -
Fam General Secretary Alfred Gunda was not readily available for his comment yesterday.
A video clip has been circulating on social media showing some supporters uprooting the seats after the match between Bullets and Silver.
Last week, the Ministry of Youth and Sports warned that it would be forced to close the facility to prevent teams from using it for domestic matches.
Meanwhile, the Lilongwe First Grade Magistrate Court yesterday convicted Chikondi Mapulanga (35) of Kawoche area, Kabudula, Lilongwe, and Clement Gidson (27), from Chimutu area, Lilongwe, to 48 months Imprisonment with hard labour for theft of materials at BNS.
The two were found guilty of stealing materials valued at K3.3 million.
