Big Bullets and their rivals Mighty Wanderers have agreed to hike by 400 percent gate charges for Sunday’s TNM Super League first round meeting at the Kamuzu Stadium where the teams’ top fans have assured of security.
Super League of Malawi (Sulom) general secretary Williams Banda on Thursday said the teams have pegged their match at K500 (about $2) for the open terraces, the MBC Stand seat will cost K1 000 (about $4), K2 000 (about $8) for Covered Stands with the VIP going at K5 000 (about $20).
The charges vary depending on the profile of games, but usually they are pegged at K100 for the ordinary seats, K500 MBC Stand while Covered and VIP stands cost K1 000 (about $4) in most matches. The revised charges are usually for international matches.
The Blantyre derby poses a litmus test for both teams which recently landed Carlsberg Malawi Limited sponsorship. The sponsorship awaits official launch.
Wanderers’ chief supporter Yona Malunga on Thursday hoped that the increased gate fees would not deter fans from patronising the derby.
“We need to raise enough from this game and pay our players. As for security, we had a meeting with Big Bullets executive and also their supporters and we resolved to contribute some cadets who will be positioned in the terraces to help the stewards. We also agreed to ask for more stewards,” Malunga said Thursday.
In a separate interview yesterday, Bullets general secretary Higger Mkandawire seemed to agree with Malunga that the high-profile match presents them an opportunity to raise enough money and pay off some debts and players’ perks.
Bullets veteran supporter, Raphael Nasimba on Thursday said enough messages have been sent out to fans to desist from violence. Bullets beat Wanderers 2-0 in a recent Fama Cup match.
“There should be no security fears. We agreed with the supporters that we should not mess up our sponsorship from Carlsberg. We must learn to accept defeat. Of course, at the end of the day, we are going to win,” he said.
