Carlsberg Cup quarter-final matches played at the weekend raised about K20.8 million from which the eight teams got about K7.5 million in total.
The match between Big Bullets and Mafco played at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday, raised K14 090 480—the highest revenue so far in the competition. It attracted a full house and some fans even sat on pavements.
Teams got K2 680 469 each while the rest went to ground owners, Football Association of Malawi (FAM), Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS), security personnel and St John’s ambulance.
However, Bullets second vice-president Austin Kasito expressed disappointment with the gross collection, saying it did not reflect the huge turnout.
“The stadium was fully packed and tickets for open stand were going at K1 000 each, covered stands tickets were priced at K3 000 whereas VIP tickets were selling at K5 000. So, we expected the revenue to exceed K20 million, but only K14 million was raised. It does not add up,” said Kasito.
He said the most painful thing is that out of the K14 million, teams got only K4 million in total.
“People came to watch Bullets play Mafco. They paid the money just for that and for us to share K4 million is unfair to the players. Things need to change so that players can benefit from their sweat,” said a visibly disappointed Kasito.
But FAM competitions manager Gomezgani Zakazaka said the gross revenue tallied with the tickets that were sold.
“I think the K14 million tallies with the number of tickets that were sold. We produced 15 000 tickets. If teams check the tickets sold, it reflects the amount,” said Zakazaka.
Another quarter-final match involving Silver Strikers and Support Battalion on Saturday grossed K1.6 million with teams sharing K250 000 each.
The game between Be Forward Wanderers and Dedza Young Soccer Stars played on Saturday in Blantyre made K5 million with each team getting K900 000.
The quarter-final game between Moyale and Kamuzu Barracks (KB) raised K144 600, according to KB vice-general secretary Michael Temaele. Each team got K18 000 out of the gross.
