Football Association of Malawi (FAM) says the hosting of all major cup finals at Bingu National Stadium (BNS) in Lilongwe in the just-ended season does not mean other venues, especially Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre, have been abandoned.
This comes after some fans expressed worry that for the first time, the finals of Castel Challenge Cup, Airtel Top 8 and FDH Bank Cup were played at BNS.
FAM competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka said in an interview yesterday that the arrangement was by design after considering a number of factors.
“The decision to have all the final matches at BNS were more on commercial grounds in alignment with our sponsors,” he said.
“This, however, does not mean we have stopped hosting final matches at other venues.”
Zakazaka also said the FAM competitions subcommittee is at liberty to decide on venues to host cup final matches after looking at logistical issues.
But FCB Nyasa Bullets national supporters committee chairperson Stone Mwamadi said it was unfair to have all the final matches at BNS when Kamuzu Stadium can also ably host such matches.
“We know that Bingu Stadium is of international standards, but surely Kamuzu Stadium is equally fit to host domestic cup finals,” he said.
“At least one of the three finals should have been played in Blantyre. After all, we already miss out on international games because Kamuzu Stadium was declared unfit by CAF [Confederation of African Football].”
Mwamadi also said considering the current state of economy, not all fans can afford to travel to Lilongwe to watch cup finals.
He said: “We reached two cup finals and after playing the first one in Lilongwe, our Blantyre-based fans thought the next one would be played at Kamuzu Stadium, but that didn’t happen.”
And speaking in his personal capacity, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers national cheerleader Yona Malunga shared Mwamadi’s sentiments.
“The decision to have all the finals of major cups in Lilongwe was not considerate and I hope next season, FAM will be able to allocate one or two final matches in Blantyre,” he said.
“I am not saying Lilongwe should not host finals matches, but at least supporters in Blantyre should also have a share of the cake.”
Kamuzu Stadium last hosted a cup final in January last year between Bullets and Mafco FC in Airtel Top 8 of the 2023 edition.
