FCB Nyasa Bullets have said the latest Blantyre derby at Kamuzu Stadium on Sunday raised K16 million less than the first-round gross due to counterfeit tickets that were on the market.
The match, which saw Mighty Wanderers beating Bullets 3-0, grossed K138.2 million in contrast to K154 million raised in the first round at the same venue in May this year.
Bullets who were the home, team targeted to raise K150 million from the latest derby, but fell K12 million short.
Bullets acting chief executive officer (CEO) Albert Chigoga said in an interview yesterday that some people were caught selling counterfeit tickets and the issue was reported to police.
He said: “We are very satisfied though we were hoping to hit K150 million.
“The battle against counterfeiters is ongoing. The matter was reported to Police who managed to arrest people selling fake tickets. Nonetheless, we are satisfied.”
Bullets commercial manager Kevin Moyo said they reported the matter to police after being tipped off that some suspicious individuals were selling entry tickets in a minibus.
He said: “The police impounded the minibus and are conducting investigations.
“The challenge is that pople want to buy tickets on match day and these fraudsters take advantage of that.”
Southern Region Police deputy spokesperson Beatrice Mikuwa confirmed the arrest of three suspects in commection with the issue.
She said: “The tickets were certified to be fake after going through security certification process and it was established that they bore the same code number.”
On his part, Wanderers CEO Panganeni Ndovi said: “Despite falling short of the first round gross, we were okay with the figure, considering that there were some observable gaps in the stands.”
On his part, Ministry of Youth and Sports spokesperson Macmillan Mwale said: “The revenue was satisfactory considering the current status of the stadium as it operates at almost half the capacity.”
An open stand ticket was fetching K6 000 in advance and K10 000 on match day. MBC Stand ticket was pegged at K10 000 in advance and K15 000 on match day while an advance Covered Stand ticket was selling at K15 000 while on match day it was K5 000 more while an advance VIP Stand ticket was selling at K25 000 and on match day it was pegged at K30 000.
Total expenses amounted to K21.18 million, leaving a net revenue of K117 million from which the two teams got K32.18 million each, stadium owners Ministry of Youth and Sports got K29.2 million.
Super League of Malawi’s cut was K11.7 million while Football Association of Malawi and Malawi National Council of Sports got K5.85 million each.
