Football fans who paid to watch the cancelled 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier between Malawi and Equatorial Guinea will get their refunds, 219 days after the incident.
This follows Football Association of Malawi (Fam)’s announcement that the association had resolved to issue refunds to ticket holders for the cancelled match, which was scheduled to take place at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on October 19 last year.
On that day, fans learnt about the cancellation five hours before kickoff after the visiting team [Equatorial Guinea] informed Fam and Fifa that it would not travel to Malawi.
In a statement issued Monday, Fam indicated that following the cancellation of the match, the association considered various options aimed at minimizing inconvenience to supporters while ensuring continued access to football activities under its management.
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“Consequently, ticket holders were offered the opportunity to utilise their tickets for other Fam events.
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“The alternatives were provided in good faith as practical remedies intended to preserve the value of the purchased tickets and maintain supporter engagement with national team activities,” the statement reads.
Following further internal review, Fam has outlined method which will be followed for fans to redeem purchased tickets.
“For all online purchases, refunds will be made directly to the mobile wallets used to purchase the tickets.
Holders of physical tickets are advised to visit the Fam offices at Bingu National Stadium between Tuesday, 2nd June and Thursday, 4th June 2026, for ticket validation to facilitate the refund process.
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“Ticket holders who may choose not to claim refunds will be permitted to use their tickets to attend the Flames’ 2027 Afcon qualifying matches scheduled to take place at Bingu National Stadium in September 2026,” the statement reads.
Meanwhile, interim chairperson for Spectators Rights Coalition Fredrick Thom, while welcoming the development, said the move was long overdue.
“While it is important to issue the refunds, the methods are not clear as some may end up not getting the refunds. Fam should have clearly stated when the match was cancelled that supporters should safely keep the tickets.
“Again, physical verification of tickets will take place in Lilongwe only, yet we have fans who travel from different districts to Lilongwe and might have bought the tickets in advance. I feel the way Fam is handling the issue is not fair enough,” Thom said.
