Haiya sees Sulom as potential cash cow for clubs
Super League of Malawi (Sulom) presidential aspirant Fleetwood Haiya says he has plans to make Sulom a cash cow for clubs.
He said his manifesto has all the remedies to change the fortunes of the clubs in relation to revenue, infrastructure and financial independence by making Sulom a corporate brand.
The Nyasa Big Bullets vice-president has attributed the league’s stagnation to mediocrity in administration and operations which has seen Sulom running without a guiding roadmap.
He said the football league governing body has been operating without any known strategic plan since inception which has been a recipe of administration disaster, to drive such an entity without a holistic management tool.
He said: “As a result, Sulom has been moving in lassitude and without a compass as to what exactly it wants to achieve. This has led to inconsistent decisions, policies, and actions with no clearly defined goals. The key performance indicators were given no benchmark. The ship was sailing, with no direction, and the captain had no compass.
“To cure this directionless and aimless state, we shall commission the development of a sound and achievable strategic plan within ninety days of office. The strategic plan shall endeavour to strike a balance between ambition and realities on the ground. It shall formulate and provide pointers that are focused on transforming our league from an amateur to a professional league.”
Haiya says through a vibrant secretariat Sulom will engage in aggressive marketing to attract sponsorship from both local and international partners.
“Having expanded its sources of revenue, my leadership will facilitate an increased club subvention to a minimum of K7m to ensure that clubs are able to effectively compete in the league.”
He said among others the Strategic Plan will also provide guidance on the means and ways of realising the full potential of the league through strategic partnerships with government, the corporate world as well as non-governmental organisations.
Haiya believes with his vision, Sulom will attain its aspirations of what the league wants to achieve in several areas such as increasing revenue for clubs and the league, infrastructure development, initiatives and capacity building programs for clubs and league officials.
His manifesto promises a model that will see 30 percent increase in gate revenue during his first season and also to ensure there is no conflicts between big clubs and smaller clubs through equitable division of revenue which make small clubs grow and compete.
Haiya has also pledged to set up a professional and effective secretariat to serve the interests of clubs through implementation of the strategic plan, with the overall objective of making the elite league realise its full potential through a vibrant commercialisation drive.
Among others, the secretariat will have a chief executive officer, financial and administration manager and a marketing manager.
While the secretariat will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Sulom, the executive committee will focus on policy formulation and provision of strategic guidance, according to Haiya.
He said through this setup
the secretariat will effectively and efficiently deal with perennial bottlenecks currently faced by Sulom like feeble commercialisation efforts, delays in financial reports, player registration, handling of complaints, game and gate management, the failure to embrace digital platforms and leverage on existing e-networks advanced by FIFA and FAM.
Renowned soccer commentator Charles Nyirenda has since expressed faith in Haiya’s vision for the elite league.
“Looking at his track record at Nyasa Big Bullets where he advocated for club ownership as a way of developing the club commercially, I believe he is capable of transforming Sulom. The way he has transformed the commercialisation drive at Bullets and restructured the whole management system is commendable. I also agree that without a proper strategic plan Sulom cannot advance or progress,” said Nyirenda.
