Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has defended its decision to shun pre-sale of tickets for tomorrow’s Airtel Top 8 final, saying it is meant to close loopholes on fake tickets.
Mighty Wanderers and Ekhaya FC face-off in the ninth edition of Zamadolo final at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe and FAM has said except for corporate boxes, entry tickets will be sold at the venue tomorrow.
FAM marketing manager Mayamiko Kafwamba said in an interview that pre-sale of tickets provides an opportunity for fraudsters to produce fake tickets.
“We believe selling the tickets on match day will help prevent production of counterfeits,” he said.
On whether the move will not cause panic at the stadium, Kafwamba said: “For this particular match, we have put several measures in place to manage the anticipated demand and avoid panic or chaos.
“These include having adequate ticket-selling points to reduce congestion, sufficient security personnel to manage crowds and queues and proper coordination at the stadium to ensure that people do not have to queue for unnecessarily long periods.
“We are also closely monitoring the situation and will continue coordinating with the relevant stakeholders to ensure a smooth and orderly entry process on match day.”
On what plans the association has to address the challenge, he said: “In the long run, the plan is to gradually move away from physical tickets and embrace full e-ticketing with proper integration of modern payment and ticketing platforms.
“This will bring us in line with modern ways of managing gate revenue collection while making ticket purchasing more convenient, secure and easier to monitor.
“However, the transition has to be gradual, we cannot move away from the current system overnight.”
points. | Courtesy of of FAM
Kafwamba said at least 15 000 tickets will be on sale with the standard ticket pegged at K10 000, K20 000 for VIP and K300 000 corporate box.
Both finalists have since backed FAM on the move.
In an interview yesterday, Ekhaya FC chief executive officer Thando Mhango said: “I fully support FAM’s decision. From a football administration perspective, protecting the integrity and revenue of the game has to come first. If selling tickets on match day significantly reduces counterfeiting and fraud, then I believe it is a necessary step.
“Yes, there may be some inconvenience or anxiety around match day, but I would rather have some pressure at the gates than allow fraudsters to undermine the game, the clubs and the revenue that football depends on.
“The solution is to ensure that the process is well organised with enough selling points, clear communication and adequate staffing to minimise congestion.”
He said ultimately, they should support measures that protect football.
“Fraud should not be normalised simply because a different system is more convenient,” said the Cowboys’ CEO.
On his part, Wanderers director of football development David Kanyenda said they are working together with FAM to ensure the implementation is effective.
He said: “This will bring us in line with modern ways of managing gate revenue collection while making ticket purchasing more convenient, secure and easier to monitor.
“However, the transition has to be gradual, we cannot move away from the current system overnight.
“It’s more or less the same protocols for pre-sale or match day because they buy from kiosks scattered outside the stadium and just bring the ticket at the stadium entrance. It’s not as if they’re literally they are buying the ticket at the gates.”
Kanyenda said they believe FAM will also ensure that gates open earlier and fans are encouraged to arrive timely to avoid risk of a stampede.
However, football analyst Parry Chinyama said while the idea is good theoretically, “in practice this will cause an unnecessary panic”.
He said: “There’s no guarantee that people can come in the morning. It is obvious that people will start trekking in an hour or two before which creates a security problem.
“Much as we want to curb fraudsters, we may create a scenario where gate crushing will be there. I would still have advocated for pre-sale of tickets.”
