Mzuzu Stadium gate fee doubled
The Super League of Malawi (Sulom ) has doubled the gate fee for Mzuzu Stadium from K500 to K1 000 for open stands.
Sulom has also raised from K1 000 to K1 500 entry charges for covered stands.
The increase is with effect from this weekend’s Super League games involving defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets against Moyale Barracks FC on Saturday and Mzuzu University (Mzuni) FC the following day.
According to Sulom general secretary Williams Banda, the charges will only be lowered during games involving teams that are not “crowd pullers”.
“The charges in other city venues have not been less than K1 000. We have decided to apply the same rate at Mzuzu Stadium,” he said.
However, soccer analyst Julius Mithi has faulted Sulom, saying the standard of football and the venue does not warrant such increase.
“After all, the standard of football is low to effect such a hike now,” he said.
Bullets general secretary Kelvin Moyo said the onus remains with hosting teams.
When contacted, Mzuni FC chairperson Felix Bello said there was need for Sulom to discuss with the teams before effecting the hike.
“It would be nice if Sulom discussed the matter with teams before effecting the hike. Otherwise, I feel the K1 000 charge is on a higher side looking at the little patronage we always get at Mzuzu Stadium,” he said.
But Moyale Barracks FC welcomed the Sulom decision to hike the gate charges, saying teams’ operational costs are higher, describing the K1 000 gate charge hike as appropriate.
“We pay a lot to watch games on television. What is wrong with K1 000 gate charge for a high profile game involving Moyale and Bullets? We feel Sulom should even put the gate charges at K1 500,” said Moyale team manager Flao Mwale. n
