Government changes managers for BNS, Kamuzu Stadium
Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture has swapped staff between Bingu National and Kamuzu stadiums as part of restructuring process.
The shake-up has seen Kamuzu Stadium manager Ambilike Mwaungulu transferred to Lilongwe to take over as BNS Operations Manager, replacing MacMillan Mwale who has been transferred to the ministry.
Former BNS Public Relations Officer, Ireen Mkoko has been transferred to Kamuzu Stadium as manager replacing Mwaungulu. The BNS is slowly turning into a white elephant project as TNM Super League teams shunned the facility last season but Kamuzu Stadium hosted several matches, including the Blantyre derby involving Be Forward Wanderers and Nyasa Big Bullets.
Spokesperson for Ministry of Sports, Simon Mbvundula refused to comment on the issue, claiming it was an internal matter.
Government owns the majority of the stadiums in the country and it is entitled to 25 percent cut from gate collections every match.
Mwaungulu could not answer his mobile phone Friday after several attempts. On his part, Mwale said he was not ready to comment on the matter.
BNS was constructed through a concession loan amounting to U$70 million (about K50 billion) which will be repaid in 20 years.
Since it was opened, BNS has only hosted four matches for senior Malawi national football team as Football Association of Malawi (Fam) prefers to use Kamuzu Stadium. BNS has hosted Flames matches against Morocco, Comoros Islands, Madagascar and Lesotho. Out of the four games, Malawi defeated Comoros 1-0 at the venue with two matches ending in draws and a loss.
BNS was opened in January 2017 as Malawi under-23 drew 2-2 against Chinese side Quanzhou R& F. Covid-19 has delayed renovations of BNS as contractors cannot import materials from China. According to agreement, the Chinese government is renovating the stadium for a period of three years. A total of 295 chairs on the VIP section require maintenance. Apart from renovating the chairs on the VIP Stands, management of BNS was also replanting grass on the main pitch.
