SULOM calls Malawi football fans hypocrites over gate charges

Super League of Malawi  has spared no kind words for football fans in Malawi after raising their concern that the gate fees for country’s biggest and famous derby between Nyasa Bullets and Be Forward Mighty Wanderers is way off the mark.

Bullets and Wanderers face each other at Kamuzu Stadium on Saturday with the gate charges going at K2,000 Open Stands, twice that of last season, K2,500 for MBC Stand K5,000 for Covered Stand and K10,000 for VIP Stand.

The soccer fans have said SULOM should have taken into consideration the economic hardships that Malawi is facing which has not spared the soccer fraternity.

But SULOM Treasurer Tiya Somba Banda said it was “hypocrisy of the highest order” for football fans to call the charges as high while at the same time want the country’s top league governing body to improve the welfare of players.

“On one hand they clubs should benefit from gate revenues. On the other hand they say they gate charges are exorbitant. Do we really what we want?. Let’s not make out football a cheap commodity,” Somba said.

His remarks got backing from a number of people with a soccer fan Elia Chisambiro saying the charges are the lowest in the region as in comparison to South  Africa derby matches cost as high as R100 which is around K50,000 (25 times higher).

Another fan said; “ Not expensive people are used to free things in Malawi. What they forget is that any entertainment has a cost attached to it. Footballers are paid by that money to feed their families.”

Bullets face their age-old rivals Wanderers with both teams having mixed fortunes in their opening two games of the season.

The Peoples team started with a goalless draw against Moyale Barracks and recovered to beat  another military outfit Red Lions 2-1 while the Nomads started with a 2-1 victory Silver Strikers but were stopped in their tracks by Dwangwa United with a one-all draw.