The TNM Super League first round grossed a record K689 million in gate revenue.
This figure, provided by the Super League of Malawi (Sulom) Wednesday, represents an increase of 36.94 percent from the K503 million realised at the same stage last season.
Out of the K689 million, the 16 Super League teams shared K286.3 million, while ground levy amounted to K134.8 million.
Sulom received K53.8 million and the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and Malawi National Council of Sports received K37.6 million and K26 million respectively.
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Despite their struggles in the first round, crowd-pullers FCB Nyasa Big Bullets are the top earners, having received K66.4 million, which represents an increase of 48.73 percent compared to last season when they earned K44.6 million at the same stage.
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Mighty Mukuru Wanderers are second on the gate revenue table, having collected K55 million, an increase of 52 percent from the K36.1 million earned last season.
TNM Super League leaders Silver Strikers are third on the gate revenue table with K35.9 million, representing an increase of 75.85 percent from the K15.4 million they earned last season at the end of the first round.
Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos rank fourth, having collected K17.3 million at the end of the first round, an increase of 68.05 percent from the K10.3 million they received last season.
Sulom Treasurer Allie Mwachande attributed the increased gate revenue to higher gate charges and improved patronage.
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“We thank the fans for supporting the teams in large numbers. This is encouraging for the teams. We hope that by the end of the season, the teams will receive more money,” Mwachande said.
The Blantyre derby between Bullets and Wanderers generated K80.4 million at Kamuzu Stadium on May 4 this season.
The match between Silver Strikers and Wanderers is the second highest gate revenue so far, having generated K33 million in a single match.
Bullets acting Chief Executive Officer Albert Chigoga said that despite being crowd-pullers, they have a proper marketing strategy for their games.
“We do not rely solely on our popularity as the most followed club; we also market our games to attract a large crowd,” Chigoga said.
Wanderers Chief Executive Officer Panganeni Ndovi said he needed more time to assess the figures.
Before the start of the season, gate charges were increased by 50 percent. Sulom classified the matches into categories A, B, and C, based on last year’s final log table.
A standard ticket for category A matches is pegged at K4000, up from K3000 last season. Tickets for matches in categories B and C are priced at K3000 and K2000 respectively.
The second round is expected to kick off this weekend, with Silver leading the log table with 37 points from 15 matches, nine points ahead of Wanderers.
