By Praise Majawa:
The Super League of Malawi (Sulom) has said the closure of Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre City has contributed to a slight and unconvincing increase in gate revenue in the first round of the FDH Bank Premiership.
The league collected K1.08 billion, representing a 1.74 percent increase from K1.06 billion generated during the same period last season.
The prolonged closure of the facility could derail Sulom’s ambition to surpass last season’s record K1.7 billion gate revenue.
Sulom has attributed the slight increase to the closure of the stadium, which is currently closed after failing to meet standards set by the Football Association of Malawi (Fam) First Instance Body (FIB).
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According to Sulom, K284 million of the total revenue went towards Match Day expenses while K440 million was shared among participating teams.
Mighty Wanderers are the highest-earning club with K93 million, followed by FCB Nyasa Big Bullets with K88 million.
Silver Strikers earned K39 million while Ekhaya generated K23 million.
At the same stage last season, Bullets were the top earners with K122 million, followed by Wanderers at K102 million, Silver at K47 million while the Cowboys walked away with K23.8 million.
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According to this season’s revenue report, the remaining revenue was distributed through the ground levy, which received K199 million, while Sulom received K79 million.
Fam and the Malawi National Council of Sports each received K39 million.
Sulom treasurer Allie Mwachande said the closure of Kamuzu Stadium, which is a major revenue-generating facility, has affected collections in the first round.
“If we had Kamuzu Stadium, this figure would have been higher than this. We depend on gate revenue and the stadium which has been generating much is closed. The authorities need to step up to re-open the facility,” Mwachande said.
The second round will kick off on October 10.
Bullets Chief Executive Officer Albert Chigoga also said the change of stadia had affected the club’s gate revenue collection.
