Nomads, Bullets differ on revenue

Domestic football powerhouses Be Forward Wanderers and Nyasa Big Bullets have differed on the K38.3 million gross realised from the Blantyre derby at Kamuzu Stadium on Saturday.

While the Nomads, who were the hosts, said they were satisfied with the figure, on the other hand the People’s Team claimed the gross revenue did not reflect the turnout.

The teams and ground owners [government] got about K8.1 million each while Super League of Malawi (Sulom) and Football Association of Malawi (FAM) pocketed about K3.2 million each whereas Malawi National Council of Sports got K1.6 million.

The rest was shared by other stakeholders that included security personnel and a cashiering firm.

The two teams played out a goalless draw in the second round of the TNM Super League just like the first round.

Wanderers chairperson Gift Mkandawire said considering that the capacity of the stadium was reduced to 14 000, the gross revenue was satisfactory.

“On average, if you rate it at K2 000 [which was the cheapest ticket], we were expecting about K28 million.

“So, hitting K38 million was commendable. No one can complain.

“Of course, there are some areas that they [FAM] need to improve on, but overall they need to be commended because there were some gaps, especially on the right hand side of the VIP,” he said.

On the K8.1 million which each team received, Mkandawire said: “That is where the issue is. Costs need to be managed.”

He also said had they proceeded with their plans to host the match at the stadium, they would have hit K40 million in gross “but the costs would have been astronomical. So, we made a good decision”.

However, on his part, Bullets chief administration officer Albert Chigoga said: “The second round derby crowd surpassed the first round yet we made about K36 million. So, it is unthinkable that despite such a huge turnout [for the second round], we made K38 million.”