Sulom gives in to threats
Super League of Malawi (Sulom) has cancelled pre-selling of match tickets for this Saturday’s Blantyre derby between Be Forward Wanderers and Nyasa Big Bullets following threats from some Nomads fans to throw spanners into the process.
A preparatory meeting for the derby held on Monday resolved to shelve the plans for advance ticket sales after some Nomads supporters threatened to sabotage the process, according to Sulom general secretary Williams Banda.
“We wanted pre-selling of tickets for the derby to maximise revenue for the two clubs. But Wanderers supporters have threatened to sabotage the pre-selling of tickets.
“They have already started a campaign that would implicate Sulom and Wanderers officials just because we are planning to implement the pre-sale process,” he said.
The supporters (names withheld), who have created a WhatsApp group, also threatened to remove the Wanderers executive if it goes ahead with the pre-sale process.
When asked to comment on the supporters move, who have recently cost the team K2.6 million in fines, the Nomads general secretary Mike Butao said: “It is time for the supporters in general to decide who between the two committees [executive and main supporters committee] is acting in the interest of the club and who is for self benefit.”
But supporters committee chairperson Yamikani Kaliyapa hit back at the executive, accusing it of applying double standards.
“The issue is not about the pre-sale of tickets or gate management. It is about the 12 percent of gate collections share that the executive agreed to be paying supporters after every game. The executive is trying to come up with such stories so that they should not pay the supporters on Saturday,” he said.
Asked why supporters should get the 12 percent, Kaliyapa said he found the system at Wanderers.
“The Wanderers executive introduced the system before I came. It is not Kaliyapa who can stop this, but the one who introduced it. At every match there are several people who move around—some employed by the same executive as security men and they all demand to be paid after the match.
“If the club refuses to pay them, they accuse me of not helping them. If I ask the club to pay them, the executive claims I am leading supporters to demand gate collections. This is not the first time such stories have come out. It happens whenever there is a big match such as the derby. But I cannot be part of such plans. I am a businessperson and I have never benefited from gate collections.”
Asked why Sulom is dancing to the tune of the supporters, treasurer Tiya Somba-Banda said the biggest challenge to pre-sale of the tickets is counterfeit tickets.
He said: “A number of shortfalls to do with pre-selling of ticketswere observed and couldn’t have been rectified within the week. Number one is counterfeit tickets. Detecting security features using the eye is almost impossible. Imagine checking 20 000 tickets with the pressure of long queues.”
Meanwhile, Sulom has announced the charges for the derby. Open stands ticket will be sold at K1 500 while MBC stand ticket is at K2 000. Covered stands ticket is at K3 000 while a VIP ticket is at K5 000.
Somba-Banda said gate management has since been outsourced.
The last time the two sides met at Kamuzu Stadium in May, there was an outcry from clubs after the match grossed K22.8 million despite a big turnout.
The clubs blamed Sulom for failing to implement a system that could ensure that there are no flaws in gate management. n
