By Mabvuto Kambuwe and Peter Fote:
The 2025 Airtel Top 8 final between eventual champions FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and runners-up Silver Strikers at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday, has set a new gate revenue record after grossing K216,166,500.
This is the highest gate revenue in domestic football.
The figure is almost double what was generated during the 2024 Airtel Top 8 final between the two teams at the same venue.
In 2024, the final grossed K116 million.
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In addition, the current figure has also surpassed the K154.9 million which was generated during the Blantyre derby in a league match in June this year. The figure is almost double the gross revenue in the league opener between Bullets and Silver at BNS in April this year.
According to the gate revenue sheet which Times Sport has seen, the net revenue was K180.8 million whereas K35.3 million was total expense.
Bullets and Silver each pocketed K45.2 million from the net revenue.
This means Bullets, in total pocketed K80 million from the Airtel Top 8 final including the K35 million prize money.
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On the other hand, Silver got K57 million including a runners-up purse of K12 million.
equaliser
Bullets Chief Executive Officer Albert Chigoga said they were satisfied with the gate revenue, attributing the record revenue to several factors.
“The game promotion strategy was excellent. Fans were told that tickets would not be sold on match day. They flocked to buy, fearing that they would find it hard to attend the match.
“Electronic buying of tickets is also gaining some grounds. People are embracing it with ease. Generally, the game itself was good value for money, product worthy buying hence huge patronage,” Chigoga said.
But Silver Board chairperson George Kaudza Masina, while appreciating the record revenue, said he expected the figure to be around K300 million.
“This is the first of its kind in Malawi and it demonstrates that football is the game of the people. Much as this is appreciated, the actual people in the stadium and the revenue realised does not match.
“A simple arithmetic, minus VIP and corporate boxes, a figure of K300 million could have been ideal, as a lot of revenue was lost due to free entry and sale of ‘fake’ which were selling at K2000 outside the stadium. Otherwise, kudos to Fam and the two teams for this rare record as we continue to transform the game,” he said.
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) General Secretary Alfred Gunda also attributed the record revenue to a number of factors.
“The collaboration in the planning and execution of the plans that existed between Airtel and Fam and the awareness on the access tickets purchase on a multiplicity of platforms well in advance for fans from all sectors of social economic divide of the population worked wonders,” Gunda said.
Ground owners got K45.2 million whereas Fam pocketed K36.1 million as its 20 percent cut. Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) got K9 million.
A standard ticket was going at K5000 whereas the VIP ticket was at K20,000. The corporate box ticket was at K30,000.
On the pitch, Bullets set another record having won the Airtel Top 8 title for a straight third year following a 4-3 over Silver on post-match penalties after a one-all stalemate in regulation time.
In total, Bullets have won four titles since 2017 having won it in 2021, 2023, 2024 and this year. They are also the first club to successfully defend it.
