Lilongwe derby grosses k9.8m
Saturday’s Lilongwe derby Airtel Top 8 semi-final between Silver Strikers and Civil Service (Civo) United grossed K9.8 million, the highest so far in this year’s edition.
From the proceeds, the teams and ground owners got K1.8 million each while Football Association of Malawi (FAM) received K1.4 million.
Malawi National Council of Sports got K307 000 while the rest was shared among service providers, including security.
The Central Bankers won the match 2-0 to qualify for the final in which they will face Nyasa Big Bullets, who beat Mighty Wanderers 4-1.
In an interview on Sunday, Civo general secretary Ronald Chiwaula said the figure was satisfactory.
“In a way, yes we are satisfied though we know we could have done better. Anyway, half a loaf is better than none, so the saying goes,” he said.
Silver chief executive officer Thoko Chimbali had not responded to our questionnaire at press time on Sunday.
Reacting to the Lilongwe derby gate revenue, FAM marketing and broadcasting manager Tulipo Mwenelupembe said: “We were impressed with the organisation and the gross revenue was a true reflection of the turnout.
“We might have had challenges here and there, but overall everything went well.”
He said the Lilongwe derby revenue was so far the highest in the 2021 Airtel Top 8 edition “and we are hoping that the final will generate even more”.
The other semi-final involving age-old rivals Wanderers and Bullets the previous Saturday at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre, fetched K8.5 million.
FAM marketing and commercial director Limbani Matola said while the revenue from the Blantyre derby was satisfactory, they could have done better.
“Of course, we had challenges in terms of organisation, but overall, the figures were satisfactory,” he said.
But Mighty Wanderers board secretary Humphrey Mvula said the gross revenue did not reflect the high turnout and attributed it to gate fraud and lack of seriousness on security.
Bullets chief administration officer Albert Chigoga said the derby was an opportunity to get reasonable revenue, considering the high turnout.
