Mighty Wanderers and Silver Strikers have halted the sale of match tickets through mobile wallets after expressing mistrust in the way mobile service providers handle e-ticketing platforms.
Wanderers chief executive officer (CEO) Panganeni Ndovi and his Silver counterpart Patrick Chimimba confirmed the development yesterday, saying they are now only comfortable with the manual sale of their match tickets at various points such as filling stations and through mobile vans until their concerns on e-ticketing are addressed.
All along, the Nomads and the Central Bankers were having the pre-sale of match tickets through both cash and mobile money transfer platforms but they have now only gone for the former option.
This was observed during their recent respective CAF Confederation Cup and Champions League home matches against Botswana’s Jwaneng Galaxy and Elgeco Plus of Madagascar at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
The development comes at a time clubs and football authorities in the country are advocating for 100 percent electronic ticketing systems as the best way to curb match ticket fraud due to minimised handling of cash by individuals.
But Ndovi said the Nomads have opted for the manual process because they feel cheated by mobile service providers, who do not give the clubs access to tracking the number of tickets sold through mobile wallets.
“The mobile operators always leave us in the dark on the actual number of tickets sold through their platform. We are not given access to track the ticket sales,” he said.
“There is need to ensure transparency and accountability on electronic ticket sales before we can trust the platform again.”
On his part, Chimimba said Silver Strikers are always in support of e-ticketing but the system’s lack of proper supporting infrastructures let them down.
He added that, with e-ticketing, there are times when the systems fail to effectively work due to poor mobile network.
“Sometimes one can buy a ticket electronically but struggle to get into the stadium just because the machines cannot verify the ticket due to network jams and other challenges,” said the Central Bankers’ CEO.
“Without necessary infrastructures to support and enhance the credibility of e-ticketing, it is hard to trust the system. There is a need for a huge investment in e-ticketing infrastructures before we can confidently embrace the system wholeheartedly.”
The clubs claim that they also recently observed that they sell less tickets through mobile wallets as compared to manual process.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) marketing manager Mayamiko Kafwamba said Wanderers and Silver’s concerns on electronic ticket sales highlight the need for improved e-ticketing systems in Malawi’s football sector.
To address the concerns, he said FAM has proposed to have standardised e-ticketing systems with reputable service providers for transparency, accountability and real-time tracking of ticket sales.
“We also encourage training and support by e-ticketing service providers to clubs and stakeholders on the use of the systems, ensuring that everybody understands the benefits and functionality of the systems,” he said.
“We also propose regular audits and monitoring systems to be put in place to ensure compliance with regulations and standards, addressing any issues promptly.”
Kafwamba added that while the clubs’ decision to revert to physical ticket sales may seem a step backward, it highlights the need for improved e-ticketing solutions.
“Physical ticket sales can be more prone to errors and fraud, such as counterfeit tickets. However, if the current e-ticketing systems do not provide the necessary transparency and accountability, clubs are not wrong to go for physical ticket sales as a more reliable option,” he said.
