FAM, Sulom yet to enforce agreed gate collection procedure
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and Super League of Malawi (Sulom) are yet to enforce a stakeholders’ agreement that payment of gate revenue shares should only be done through bank accounts for accountability purposes.
The Nation has established that despite the arrangement, some top-flight league clubs still received their cuts in cash soon after league and cup matches in the just-ended season.
FAM executive member Daud Mtanthiko said during 2018 TNM Super League prize presentation on Saturday that it was only eventual champions Nyasa Big Bullets that got all their shares through the bank as others demanded to get their cuts right at the match venues.
“Bullets never got their shares in cash in all their matches. They got all their cuts through the bank. I would like to commend Bullets management for this and I urge other clubs to emulate this,” he said.
But Sulom treasurer Tiya Somba-Banda yesterday said it is only in rare circumstances that they allow teams to get their shares in cash.
“All the teams get their shares through the bank except in some pressing circumstances whereby teams playing away matches might want to cater for their accommodation and fuel,” he said.
Be Forward Wanderers general secretary Mike Butao said they are forced to demand their cuts right after matches to pay for their strict budget lines, but said it is the responsibility of the football authorities to enforce the standard procedure.
“Unlike other clubs, Wanderers operate on strict budget lines, meaning, we need cash to supplement our budget because sometimes our costs of operation differ from one game to another, especially on our away fixtures. This is the reason sometimes we demand our share there and then,” he said.
Soccer analyst George Kaudza Masina yesterday said while following the procedure of making the payments through the bank is the best practice for accountability purposes, it is difficult for FAM and Sulom to implement it with a number of Super League teams heavily relying on gate collections for their survival.
However, he said it is important for both FAM and Sulom to be strict on the procedure.
“The challenge is that if Sulom becomes strict on this rule, most clubs will close shop due to lack of sponsorship, which results from their over-reliance on gate collections. It is high time clubs came up with ways of doing things differently, otherwise this will continue eternally,” Masina said.
“Let Sulom practise what they preach as it will help the clubs to jack up and find better ways of generating revenue for their operations. As for Wanderers, it is unfortunate that they are one of the teams demanding their share at the source with the type of sponsorship they are enjoying.”
Bullets were named the Best Managed Team for their transformation to professionalism and the club’s chief executive officer Fleetwood Haiya said they would strive to remain the best in the country both on and off the pitch. n
