Lilongwe hosts Luso TV clash of Malawi football giants
After going through a two-week soccer drought, soccer mad fans in the capital city are set to be treated to a football fiesta as the capital hosts what has been dubbed Luso TV Clash of Giants at Civo Stadium on September 21 and 22, 2013.
Organised by followers of the country’s football power houses, the Luso TV ‘Clash of Giants’ will see four of the country’s giants- Mighty Wanderers, Big Bullets, Silver Strikers and Epac FC alias Njenjete zaku Lilongwe coming face to face at the city’s soccer mecca.
Announcing the tournament’s logistics at a draw conducted Wednesday evening at Crown Lodge in Lilongwe, chairman of the organizing committee Austin Kasito disclosed that the winning team would walk away with K1 million cash with runners up pocketing K500,000. Winner of the losers’ final would get K300,000 and the loser K200,000.
Kasito also disclosed there would be individual cash prizes of K20,000 each for the top goal scorer, best midfielder, best defender, best goal keeper and player of the tournament.
Apart from the prizes, the chairman said gate collections from the matches would be shared equally amongst the four participating teams.
He further said the organizing committee would foot transport, food and accommodation costs for the traveling teams. He said transport and meal costs for the Lilongwe based teams would also be met by the committee.
According to the organizing chair, all the cash prizes have been sponsored by newly introduced Television station Luso TV, which has pumped in a total of K1.1 million into the tournament.
Speaking on behalf of Luso TV, Station Manager Franklin Phanga said the main objective behind the establishment of the TV station was to promote local art and talent (Luso).
“When you talk about Luso, you don’t only talk about music, drama and other forms of arts but sports as well. For many years, Malawian art/talent has not been given enough platform to develop and as Luso TV starts beaming end September, we will be beaming various Super League games and other sporting activities.
“Not many people afford to go and watch games during the weekend or mid-week due to church, work, weddings and other social commitments, as such Luso TV plans to beam games played during the afternoon in the evening hours.
“We have already written Football Association of Malawi (Fam), Super League of Malawi (Sulom) and league sponsors TNM over our plans,” said Phanga, who was in the company of his managing director Kendall Kamwendo and other top managers.
Fam executive member James Mwenda hailed the initiative by the football clubs, pledging Fam and Sulom would not come in to claim shares from gate collections in such initiatives.
“We are in full support of this initiative and you will not see us (Fam and Sulom) coming to claim our shares from the gates in such initiatives. We will only come in if the games are organized by Fam or Sulom,” he said.
Mwenda also saluted Luso TV for accepting to sponsor the tournament, urging soccer lovers to support the TV station.
During the draw, Epac FC were paired against Mighty Wanderers in the first game to be played on Saturday, September 21 from 12.30 with TNM Super League defending champions Silver Strikers pitted against Big Bullets in the second match of the day scheduled to start at 14.30.
Winners will meet in the final scheduled for September 22. The grand final will be curtain-raised by the losers.
