Ministry of Youth and Sports has said Sunday’s Airtel Top 8 final gross revenue could have surpassed the record K216 million had the management system been strictly followed.
FCB Nyasa Bullets beat Silver Strikers 4-3 on post-match penalties at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe to win the cup for the third consecutive time and fourth overall in the tournament’s eight years.
The ministry’s spokesperson Macmillan Mwale said in an interview yesterday that the stadium was filled beyond capacity and revenue collected could have “surpassed the K216 million”.
He said: Network failure, porousness of the perimeter fence and strict gate management control need improvement to manage such a record turnout.”
From the gross, K35.35 million covered expenses, leaving a net of K180. 81 million from which the two teams and the ministry, who are the ground owners, got about K45.20 million each, representing 75 percent of the net.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) received about K36.16 million while Malawi National Council of Sports got at least K9 million.
The standard advance ticket for the match was selling at K5 000 while on match day it fetched K8 000.
Bullets acting chief executive officer Albert Chigoga and FAM president Fleetwood Haiya described the gross revenue as satisfactory.
Said Chigoga: “Let’s be honest, a local football match has never grossed over K200 million in Malawi.
“Issues could be there, but there is nothing to worry about. We are generally satisfied.”
Haiya also described the turnout as impressive.
“The transformational agenda is firmly on track with this remarkable milestone. Together, we are writing the story of football in Malawi,” he wrote on his official Facebook page.
