Nomads target K70m from stadium fundraisers

Be Forward Wanderers are targeting to raise K70 million (about $95 281) for the stadium project from a flurry of fundraising dinner and dance.

The first dinner will be held at the College of Medicine Sports Complex in Blantyre on March 4.

Similar activities will be held in Lilongwe and Mzuzu as well.

“The money which we will raise from the fundraising activities will be used for the purchase of land, goalposts and construction of a brick fence,” said general secretary Mike Butao on Thursday.

The fundraising drive comes as Football Association of Malawi (FAM) is enforcing Club Licencing System which demands that clubs have well equipped training grounds.

Wanderers are currently hiring the Kamuzu Stadium for training as it does not have its own training facilities.

Butao said hiring of the facilities has been costing them a lot.

“We have three teams-the senior team, reserve side and the youth team. We spend millions in ground rentals every year to ensure that these teams are training properly,” he said.

The general secretary said they expect the first phase of the project to be completed after one year.

“Apart from buying the land, erecting a brick fence, the first phase of the project is constructing washing rooms and two offices for the technical manager and grounds manager, storeroom and a pitch for training,” he said.

Butao said the second phase will see the construction of one stand at a time and more facilities such as a hall, dressing rooms and more office structures.

“As a full-blown stadium with recreational facilities in the years to come, Blantyre residents will be able to use it for weddings, workshops, prayers, music shows, drama and netball tournaments among others. So it will also benefit the community,” he said.

The Blantyre dinner and dance will be spiced up by musical performance by acoustic crew Edgar ndi Davis and Giddes Chalamanda. n