K300m needed for new turf
Astro Turf, a firm that installed Kamuzu Stadium artificial pitch, has submitted a quotation of $380 000 (about K300 million) for the reinstalling of a new turf.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) requested the quote after recommending to government that the artificial turf should be replaced instead of natural grass.
A team comprising officials from Ministry of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development, Ministry of Transport and Public Infrastructure, Super League of Malawi (Sulom), Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and Malawi National Council of Sports, inspected the stadium on Friday.
The inspection was done after government said it will let technical experts decide on the fate of the stadium’s turf.
Last week, Minister of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development Henry Mussa announced that President Peter Mutharika had ordered that games should still be played at the stadium.
He, however, later changed tune and said government would let technical experts inspect the stadium and make a decision.
FAM facility supervisor Jossam Namwela, who was trained by Fifa on artificial turf maintenance, confirmed having presented a report which recommends the closing of the stadium’s artificial pitch replacement.
“Basically we inspected the facility and we did a number of tests to see if at all matches can be played there as we are waiting for the renovations. But the turf is not in usable state. We have since presented a report to my superiors which will also be presented to government by Monday,” he said.
On the replacing of the new turf, Namwela said the association wanted to check the costs.
“We asked for a quotation from Astro Turf. They are ready to replace the material within 12 weeks at a cost of $380 000,” he said.
The director of sports in the sports ministry, Jameson Ndalama, said they will wait for a report from the team before commenting.
“The team’s report should be in by Monday [today]. That is when we can have a picture of what should happen to the stadium,” he said.
FAM already made a decision to stop fixing matches at the stadium.
However, Nyasa Big Bullets and Be Forward Wanderers have been pestering the association to let them use the stadium. n
