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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