karonga hit jackpot
Once bitten, twice shy. TNM Super League rookies Karonga United have made K15 million (about $23 300) through community mobilisation to avoid financial hardships they faced in the top-flight league two seasons ago.
This is against the background that domestic powerhouses—Nyasa Big Bullets and Be Forward Wanderers—fail to raise that much in similar initiatives
The club’s chairperson Alufeyo Banda said the community has taken responsibility of the club finances.
“We have a budget of K29 million (about $44 900) for us to fulfil our fixtures this season and I can tell you that we already have over K15 million in form of contributions from the Karonga community.
“We are confident of beating the budget looking at the overwhelming response from the Karonga people. There is a sense of ownership towards the club and this time around, they want it to stay in the [Super] League,” he said.
Banda said the club is transparent and accountable and every penny is accounted for.
On players perks, Banda said they get K8 000 (about $12.4) for a win and half the amount for a draw.
“We know the folly of negligence of players welfare. For us to succeed we need motivated players. Of course, most of our players are already motivated at playing in the top league but they also need to earn something,” he explained.
On the pitch, the club is not doing bad. Karonga United has so far played four league games. They lost 3-0 to Silver Strikers and drew against Be Forward Wanderers, MTV Max Bullets and Wizards.
He said technically the team is set for major exploits.
Super League of Malawi (Sulom) has since hailed Karonga for the initiative.
“The fact that they have mobilised the community and already raised such a huge chunk shows how serious they are in playing in the top league, “ said Sulom president Innocent Bottomani. n
