Derby in K25m revenue drop
Saturday’s TNM Super League Blantyre derby between archrivals Mighty Mukuru Wanderers and FCB Nyasa Bullets at Kamuzu Stadium grossed K55.1 million which is K25 million less than the first round collection.
The first round encounter in May this year grossed K80.49 million while the FDH Bank Cup Round of 16 match between the two giants in July this year at club level set a new gross revenue record of K88.3 million.
There was a slight drop of patronage in the latest episode of the most sought-after fixture with some quarters, including Super League of Malawi (Sulom), attributing it to Bullets’ slump in form.
From the K41.98 million net collection, the two teams and ground owners Ministry of Youth and Sports got K10. 5 million each.
Football Association of Malawi and Sulom pocketed about K4.198 million each while the Malawi National Council of Sports received about K2.09 million.
From the gross, only K2.66 million was realised through e-ticketing, about K28.30 was made from match day ticket sales while K24.19 million was made from pre-sale of tickets.
Total expenses amounted to K13.17 million.
Wanderers were the home team and their chief executive officer (CEO) Panganeni Ndovi had not responded to our questionnaire at the time of going to press yesterday.
But Bullets acting CEO Albert Chigoga said the gross revenue is not a true reflection of the turnout.
He said: “We are not very satisfied, we could have done better. But then, we were an away team, so the business responsibility was mainly handled by Wanderers.
“In the first round, we made in excess of K80 million if you may recall. We were responsible for the business at the time. We couldn’t match the first round revenue this time around yes, but K55 million is not a true reflection of the crowd that thronged the stadium.”
But Sulom vice-general secretary Donnex Chilonga had a different view.
“I think maybe its because of Bullets’ poor showing. If you look at Bullets’ performance this season, it hasn’t been top-notch compared to the past seasons,” he said.