Carlsberg explains Bullets, Wanderers game move to Lilongwe
Carlsberg Malawi Breweries decided to move the Carlsberg Cup semifinals between Bullets FC and their archrivals Mighty Wanderers from Blantyre to Lilongwe at Civo Stadium on Saturday after noting that all the last three games of the cup would have been played at the same venue.
Twikale Chirwa, Senior Brands Manager of Carlsberg Malawi Breweries said it would not have been logical to deny soccer fans in other areas such as Lilongwe of the Carlsberg party because the final is scheduled for Blanture.
“If all the semifinals would have been played in Blantyre it means that all the last three matches would have been in Blantyre,” Chirwa said.
“Carlsberg Cup is for all Malawians and as we are celebrating 50 years of independence of self rule it is right and proper that football fans in Lilongwe and Mzuzu, who are also our customers should be part of the fun.”
Chirwa said after looking at the last four teams they decided to move Malawi’s soccer club giants clash to Lilongwe because they would still attract a large following.
“When we looked at Zomba United and Kamuzu Barracks it would have been unfair for them to play in Lilongwe because they may not attract as more fans as Bullets and Wanderers,” Chirwa said.
The game would also be preceded by Capital city’s first ever street party on Friday.
Both Bullets and Wanderers, who protested the move to play in the capital Lilongwe bearing in mind of the financial implication, were satisfied with the sponsors’ explanation.
Wanderers chairman George Chamangwana said they were satisfied with the rationale behind moving the game to Lilongwe.
“We are now satisfied because the sponsors have explained in detail,” Chamangwana said.
His Bullets counterpart Kondie Msungama said the team was not against moving the game to Lilongwe.
“We were only trying to reason with them that whenever such decisions are made they should consider meeting costs such as transport and accommodation,” Msungama said.
“But now we are happy that the sponsors have actually requested for the game to be played in Lilongwe because we will also entertain our fans in Central Region.”
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