Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has pulled out of its prospective partnership with Malawi Digital Broadcasting Network Limited (MDBNL) to launch a pay television channel for football matches.
The development comes in the wake of the failed launch for the initiative in Blantyre three weeks ago after MDBNL officials failed to show up, citing “logistical and technical challenges”.
The deal was supposed to benefit stakeholders, especially clubs, from broadcasting rights.
In an interview on Wednesday, FAM president Walter Nyamilandu said: “They [MDBNL] were very elusive with their response. They have let us down big time.
“However, we are determined to explore other avenues to make TV broadcasting a reality in football.
“TV broadcasting deal is very critical for us because of the revenue aspect, apart from providing an opportunity to the fans to watch matches during this difficult [Covid-19] period.
“We are not successful at our first attempt with MDBNL, but we haven’t given up.”
The FAM president said they are now exploring other options “and we have resolved to identify a suitable partner”.
He said: “We believe this is the way to go and we are hoping to make inroads very soon. We are fast-tracking the process, but it is always important to do due diligence whenever we do anything else so that whichever partner we take on board, there must be transparency and accountability.
“But we also need to identify a right partner who will perform. So, while we are mindful of time, we also have to consider that when we settle for a partner, we should not go back to our stakeholders with negative news that the deal hasn’t worked or the project hasn’t been successful.
“So, we will take our time to ensure that we land a very good deal.”
MDBNL chief executive officer Dennis Chirwa said he needed “more time to consult”.
Registered under Companies Act on February 20 2014, MDBNL, which became operational on July 1 2015, has Kiliyekiliye platform which FAM wanted to use as a dedicated football channel.
