Malawi FA clarifies on fake tickets: Printers erroneously skipped stamping holograms on the tickets
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) says the tickets that were suspected to be fake for Saturday’s African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier between Malawi’s Flames and Madagascar at Bingu National Stadium were not fake “per se but that the printers erroneously skipped stamping the holograms on these tickets”.
Earlier reports indicated as if security police officers had busted another ticket racket and accused Fam officials as if they were in connivance of the incident.
Fam hired FDH Bank and other agents to handle pre-match ticket sales and advised the general public to only buy tickets with the original seal.
During the pre-match meeting held at the Bingu National Stadium on Thursday, April 27, 2017, the football governing body advised stakeholders including the police that only FDH Bank would sell match tickets on the match day.
However, the police got a complaint from FDH staff that some unkwon people were selling tickets without the original seal at the Stadium.
The police then arrested the individuals that were selling the suspected fake tickets.
However, Fam Commercial Director Limbani Matola, says indeed some people were found with tickets without the Fam security holograms and the suspects they were apprehended as per instructions given to police.
“The case was brought before me, ” Matola explains.
“We, together with the police, launched a thorough investigation. The investigation involved interrogating the suspects regarding source of their ‘fake tickets’. We further traced the tickets back to the sales outlets.
“Upon further scrutiny, it was discovered that the tickets were not fake per se but that the printers erroneously skipped stamping the holograms on these tickets.
“This problem was noted on not just one sales outlet. At this point we indeed cleared the people affected and I personally apologised to these people.
“I vividly remember a gentleman who traveled with his family all the way from Dowa/Ntchisi and bought six tickets for his family from Area 18 Puma Filling Station. He was apprehended, embarrassed before his own family.
“When the matter reached me, we immediately launched investigation and went back to Area 18 Filling Station where we indeed found that all the tickets were genuinely bought there and this was purely factory fault.
“I felt bad inside of me. I advised the police to release the gentleman. This was also the case with some people — about four of them.
“Once again, I take the responsibility and I sincerely apologise to the affected people and their families. As Fam the issue of fortifying the security of match day tickets remains at our core.
“We appreciate we will face challenges in the initial stages (teething problems) and each game gives us an opportunity to learn and further improve the system,” Matola explains.
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Wagwidwa Matola. Mmene mumadyera ndi mmenemo. Chipanda FDH Bank munakagawana ndalamazo. Iyaaaa.
A STRAIGHT FORWARD ISSUE, FAM WANTED TO HOODWINK WITH FDH TICKET STATISTICAL SALES WHILST THEY SHARE PROCEDS FROM THE FK ONES!!!! GLAD THAT THEIR BRAINS ARE BEING DERODED OF THIEVING TACTICS LIKE THIS CHEAP METHOD FROM ‘SO CALLED’ ACADEMIC EXCELLENT PEOPLE!! THJIS IS INTELLECTUAL BANKRUPTCY OTHERWISE THEY WOULDN’T HAVE EMPLOYED SUCH A METHOD IN MORDERN DAY MALAWI – EVEN NYAU MASIKU ANO ZIMAZIWA KUTI APA ‘SEAL’ PALIBE APA!!
This man called Limbani Matola should be immediately chased at FAM for thievery. Whatever he has said does not add up. These are the words that any thief who is caught stealing would say. The incident has just vindicated some of us who have been saying FAM officials are a bunch of thieves. Actually, these people are not there to ensure proper football administration and management but rather stealing. Even the face of ‘commercial director’ itself tells it all. FAM management needs to undergo major overhaul.
If was FAM that advised people to buy tickets only at FDH. The same FAM is talking of Area 18 Filling Station. And it talks of some people selling the tickets around the stadium. It is my view that these stories do not add up. There’s no way a printer can print other tickets well and leave some elements in others unprinted. FAM must have instructed the printer to print a specific number of tickets and sent them to FDH. Some individuals printed theirs own designs without the security elements in place. And this is clearly FAMs ticket scam.
To me a fake ticket remains as such. Whether it was printer’s fault or not. It is this kind is mediocrity that is breeding all the ills Malawi is going through
Sorry guys but I find this explanation from FAM as lacking, one that is intended at preventing the police from investigating the matter further. There are strong pointers to the fact fact that this is a FAM syndicate. Tickets were made to be sold by FDH bank, how come the fake tickets were never sold by the bank? Why set up other selling agents while the bank was there? These other selling outlets are what FAM made as the conduit for their fake tickets. We are still aware that all investigations into fake ticket sales at FAM do not come… Read more »
Bodza. The FMB staff were the only one to sell the tickets. Mr Matola do not defend anthu akuba. Perhaps you in the group, Minister of sport please chase this issue.
MWANA NDANI
That’s not the whole truth. Much as the tickets were not fake, but seems to have been over and above the order.
PRINTERS ARE AUTOMATICALLY SET. HOW COME ONLY THOSE WITH PEOPLE OTHER THAN FDH? DO NOT FOOL US PLEASE. WHEN WAS THE HOLOGRAM DISCOVERED MISSING? MACHINES DO NOT STAMP HOLOGRAM MANUALLY. A MALAWI PAJA BOZA NDILANU.