Sulom cautioned on gate shares
Some football clubs and an analyst have cautioned the Super League of Malawi (Sulom) to tread carefully on gate revenue sharing, arguing that the changes remain illegal unless a policy amendment is done.
Silver Strikers chief executive officer Patrick Chimimba, Karonga United general secretary Ramzy Simwaka and football analyst Parry Chinyama expressed the sentiments in reaction to Sulom’s decision last weekend to effect cuts in allocations to the Malawi National Council of Sports and Football Association of Malawi (FAM) as per its recent annual general meeting resolutions.
The policy, designed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports through the Sports Council, stipulates that clubs involved in a match and ground owners should each receive 25 percent of the net revenue while FAM and Sulom should get 10 percent each. The Sports Council, on the other hand, should get five percent.
But Sulom cut allocations to FAM and the Sports Council last weekend so that teams could each receive 30 percent.
Said Chimimba: “Of course, as clubs, we welcome anything that brings more money into our coffers, but that should only happen when the right procedures are followed to avoid crossing paths with the laws.Amendment of the policy and proper communication to the clubs should be done first.
“I believe it is important for FAM or Sulom to give a proper direction the soonest so that as we head to our next matches this weekend, there should be uniformity on how things should be done.”
In a separate interview, Simwaka also said there is a need for stakeholders to sit down so that any change should be in tandem with the instruments that govern gate revenue sharing systems.
On his part, Chinyama said policy matters are very complex in nature and have to be strictly followed to avoid facing legal consequences.
“It is a folly to continue implementing the changes unless amendments are made. Football authorities should learn to be careful with the laws and should ensure that whatever they promise during their election campaigns are not in conflict with the laws,” he said.
However, he said it will not be easy to make the policy amendments unless all stakeholders meet to agree on the way forward.
Sulom vice-general secretary Donnex Chilonga was not available to explain why they opted to implement the changes before the policy on gate revenue sharing is amended.
However, Chilonga was quoted in The Daily Times of April 9 as having said that: “FAM agreed that teams will be getting 30 percent of net revenue and they [FAM and Sports Council] are handling policy issues regarding that.”
FAM general secretary Alfred Gunda said at the moment they are looking at modalities on the promise and will have a position presented for AGM approval.
“It’s a commitment of our president and has been factored in the budget but the appropriate approval processes will need to be done for implementation,” he said.
Sports Council spokesperson Edgar Ntulumbwa said the local sports overseer is still entitled to five percent cut from the gate revenue as stakeholders discuss the possibility of policy change.
