South Netball League gets K25 000 gate collection
Following re-introduction of gate charges by the Rainbow Paints Blantyre and Districts Netball League (BDNL), on Saturday, games played at Blantyre Youth Centre (BYC) grossed K25 500.
The league’s general secretary Annie Hanjahanja-Billie said although the revenue was not much, they are satisfied considering that this was the first time after the charges were suspended because BYC is also used by other sports disciplines.
“For a start, this was satisfactory as we were testing the waters,” she said, adding that the gate fee will be increased to K500 at the start of the league’s second-round.
Hanjahanja said from the revenue that was realised, facility owners (Malawi National Council of Sports) got 25 percent (K6 375) while the rest will be shared among BDNL and the six teams that played on the day.
“I cannot tell how much BDNL and the teams would each get as we are currently discussing on how we should share the collections,” she said. If they share it equally, each will receive K2,450.
While welcoming the initiative, the league’s clubs, especially the unsponsored, said they hope the revenue will trickle down to their coffers.
“When the gate charges were previously introduced, we hardly received a tambala from the collections, and there are no clear guidelines on how the money would be shared among the clubs. It is my hope that we will be getting something to cushion our expenses,” said Serenity Stars chairperson Dalitso Ameera-Chinyama.
At BYC, last weekend, defending champions Kukoma Diamonds beat Tropical Queens 38-22 while Tigresses had a 55-36 victory over Zomba-based Prison Sisters. The two giants are tied on 18 points from nine-straight victories apiece, but Diamonds are at the summit of the table on better basket difference of 592 against Tigresses’ 513. In another match, Serenity Stars moved a step up—to sixth place—with 10 points from nine encounters following a 60-28 victory over Chileka Sisters.
