Travel taking a toll on BT teams

Be Forward Wanderers and Nyasa Big Bullets have said financial constraints have started taking  a toll on them by playing their home matches outside Blantyre.

The Nomads general secretary Mike Butao said this in the wake of the rescheduling of their Airtel Top 8 semi-final match against Moyale Barracks from Mulanje Park to Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe this Saturday.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has shifted the match to Lilongwe in consultation with the teams because the match coincides with another function in Mulanje.

“We were consulted about the development, apparently there is a chieftaincy function in Mulanje and, as such, the district cannot hold two big events on the same day which makes sense from a security perspective.

“So, under the circumstances, we have no choice but to play in Lilongwe at a huge financial cost though it is our home game,” said Butao.

President Peter Mutharika will on Sunday preside over the elevation of Senior Chief Ngongoliwa to Paramount Chief at Chonde in Mulanje.

The Nomads GS said the development brings into proper focus the plight of Blantyre teams and fans.

“Kamuzu Stadium should have remained open until government was ready to start maintenance work. On May 1, we were promised by the Minister [of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development], Hon. Henry Mussa that renovations would take a month.

“But it’s almost a month now and no works have started [and yet] social games and training sessions are taking place day in, day out at the same facility which we are told is closed,” he wondered.

Butao said it costs them about K1.5 million to travel to Lilongwe for a fixture and in the excess of K400 000 when they travel to Mulanje and Nchalo in Chikwawa.

His Bullets counterpart, Albert Chigoga, also shared the same sentiments, saying: “Hosting Silver in Mulanje cost us quite a lot when it would have been far less if we had played at Kamuzu Stadium.”

Ministry of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development principal secretary Lucky Sikwese said: “The issue [about the stadium] was indeed brought to our attention and assessments have started, but not as in physical assessments and we will provide details at a later stage.”