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Super League clubs commercialisation facing bottlenecks

Commercialisation is still a far-fetched dream for Malawian clubs due to lack of political will and support from stakeholders, including government, Nation on Sunday understands.

Malawi’s giant football clubs FCB Nyasa Bullets, Mighty Wanderers and Silver Strikers have attributed the slow progress to commercialisation to unfavourable environment.

However, the three clubs admitted that, on their part, they still need to work harder to be more exceptional in their operations and continue adhering to club licensing requirements.

The clubs disclosed this after being asked to outline their successes and challenges since they started operating as business entities at full-scale three years ago.

Wanderers chief executive officer Panganeni Ndovi said: “Lack of a policy framework supporting football clubs as business entities remains a significant challenge. We are still largely viewed through a non-commercial lens, which limits opportunities for government or institutional backing.

“We need to engage policymakers to create a supportive framework for football commercialisation. This includes tax incentives for sponsors and support on infrastructure development.”

Ndovi added that Wanderers’ transitioning from a traditional model to a commercially-driven structure has been met with resistance and this can significantly improve if governance systems are modernised to align them with the trajectory.

Chimimba: We have been trying our best. | NATION

“While fan engagement has improved, sustaining it at a level that drives profitability is an ongoing challenge, especially during non-competitive seasons,” he said.

Bullets acting-chief executive officer Albert Chigoga concurred with Ndovi, saying they believe they can run their operations better once various stakeholders, especially the government, FAM and supporters, show seriousness to work with the clubs.

He said as they continue to build the Bullets brand, there are detractors as well as promoters of the football business idea but it is encouraging that the club is rapidly influencing detractors to defect to a massive group of promoters and supporters of the idea.

“The other pitfalls include dealing with the proliferation of alternative

choices in football, where people cannot patronise stadia by opting to watch games online yet clubs are unable to make any revenue using such a channel,” he said.

“Media and commercial rights require collective effort in making sure we fetch substantial revenue for the clubs. In the meantime, the situation is not very impressive as one would have desired.”

Silver Strikers chief executive officer Patrick Chimimba described their commercialisation drive as a mixed bag.

“As a club, we have been trying our best to sensitise our stakeholders to understand and appreciate their role in this new commercialised club,” he said.

“For instance, we let them know the club needs a wide range of resources to do well on the field and that does not come cheap. At the same, we sensitise them on the importance of protecting our brand to make it more appealing to partners.”

Ministry of Youth and Sports spokesperson McMillan Mwale said they agree with clubs that there is a

need for incentives to attract more partners to sports sponsorships but that can only materialise after a good planning process.

“As a ministry, we can lobby for incentives such as tax waivers for companies that engage in sports development but that process requires proper and thorough consultations with various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Finance,” he said.

However, giant clubs say they are happy to see that a lot of people are increasingly embracing the ‘football business’ idea, resulting in acquiring more financial benefits, apart from revenue from matches.

Chigoga said: “As Bullets, we have laid a strong foundation to build our brand and then endeavour to become the most iconic football club in Malawi and the region.

“It is quite impressive to note that we are now able to acquire strategic partners and are able to sell merchandise in volumes, something that was was not easy in the past.”

So far, Bullets have for the past few years secured seven strategic partners, namely, platinum sponsors First Capital Bank (FCB), owners Nyasa Manufacturing Company (NMC), general support sponsors CIC Insurance Company, goal of the month sponsors Precious Medical International, Hubertus Clausius for player of month, man of the match financiers Paramount Concrete Company and water partners Sunseed Oil.

On Wanderers’ part, Ndovi said they have made significant strides toward operating as a full-scale commercial entity as they successfully launched a recognisable brand not just nationally but also regionally, leveraging partnerships and diversifying their revenue streams.

“Beyond match-day revenue, we have invested in initiatives such as merchandise sales, sponsorships and digital platforms to enhance fan engagement and create sustainable income sources,” he said.

Currently, the Nomads enjoy partnerships with main sponsor and club president Thomson Mpinganjira through the Thomson and Barbara Mpinganjira Foundation.

They have also just partnered 888Bets as shirt sponsors, Pemba Rubber Stamps as player of the month sponsors and Smile Life Insurance Company as man of the match financiers.

However, just a few days ago, they parted ways with their other partners Mukuru.

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