Super League of Malawi (SULOM) has announced that TNM Super League gate revenue has almost doubled to at least K916 million from the previous season’s K588 million.
SULOM President Fleetwood Haiya disclosed this at a press briefing held at SULOM Offices in Blantyre yesterday.
Haiya attributed the rise in revenue collected to strict fiscal measures imposed on ticket and gate management and efforts to curb gate fraud among others.
He then commended sponsors for making the just-ended season a success.
The SULOM boss said he will negotiate with potential sponsors for a hike in league sponsorship and the Man of the Match award, considering the devaluation of the local currency.
Haiya also asked the government to recognize sponsors in their taxes to woo more of them to come on board.
Last Sunday, Haiya, who is also vying for Football Association of Malawi’s presidency on December 16 polls, said the association would hike club subvention to K20 million from K10 million per team during the 2024 season.
In 2022, SULOM collected gate revenue of about K600 million.
Lilongwe City Council Mayor Councilor Richard Banda on Wednesday on Wednesday unveiled a long term partnership with Good Vision Glasses with an aim of providing opportunity to those with sight problems access care and support.
Speaking during the unveiling ceremony, Banda said was so grateful to see the institution coming to help the people with sight problems. During the function , the Mayor bought glasses for 50 people.
The Mayor with Good Vision Glasses Officials
Good Vision Glasses distribution Manager, Barton Chirwa expressed his organisation commitment to reach out to people in restoration of their sight.
Chirwa said was aware that not everyone can afford to access glasses hence the partnership which is destined to bring good sight for the people in area 23.
Meanwhile Block leaders in the area have hailed the Mayor for the initiative.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) remains adamant that the second leg quarter final match between Mighty Mukuru Wanderers and Silver Strikers in the Airtel Top 8 will not be postponed despite the former’s appeal.
On December 4,2023, Nomads sought postponement of the match scheduled for December 6, 2023 citing dissatisfaction with FAM Disciplinary Committee’s determination on its appeal.
Quoting Article 14(2) of the 2023 Airtel Top 8 Rules and Regulations, the team further demanded the Disciplinary Committee to provide reasoned determination which will enable it to substantiate the grounds of appeal that it filed to the association.
‘Take further notice that the grounds of appeal shall be furnished once the Disciplinary Committee issues a reasoned determination as undertaken in the letter dated 2nd December 2023, but served on the appeallant on 3rd December 2023,’ reads part of the Wanderers’ appeal.
Therefore, the team has prayed for postponement of the match up until the Appeals Committee makes a reasoned determination.
‘Pending issuance of the reasoned determination and pending hearing and determination of the appeal by the Appeals Committee, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers Football Club humbly prays the second led fixture against Silver Strikers Football Club be postponed,’ dared Wanderers.
However, in its counterstrike through the letter dated 5th December 2023 signed by FAM Chief Executive Officer, Alfred Gift Gunda addressed to Wanderers’ Chief Executive Officer, Roosevelt Mpinganjira, the football mother body remains intransigent in listening to the team’s appeal insisting the game is still on.
Gunda said the decision respects guidelines stipulated in Article 8.5 and 8.6 of 2023 Airtel Top 8 Rules and Regulations.
On providing the team with reasoned determination as per its request, FAM caved in to expedite issuance of the same in written form within this week.
Regarding gross misconducts by Wanderers during Airtel Top 8 first leg quarter final match against the Central Bankers on 23rd September 2023 at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, FAM Competition Committee slapped Nomads with MK22,083,400 penalty for repair and restoration of damaged facilities, MK2,000,000 for bringing a game of football, FAM and sponsors in disrepute and again MK500,000 for failing to control its supporters who damaged seats and strewn objects into the pitch.
Worse still, the committee scraped off Nomads’ hard-earned goal in the match that ended 2 – 1 in favour of Silver Strikers by awarding the latter a 2 – 0 cushion as the Lali Luban side contradicted Article 10.3 of 2023 Airtel Top 8 dos and don’ts when it abandoned the match.
Parliament has on Monday afternoon passed the revised K4.33 trillion budget without any changes as presented by Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda two weeks ago.
The revised budget is up from previous K3. 7 trillion.
It took the House about 2 hours and 30 minutes to pass all the 57 revised votes.
However, there was some resistance on the Malawi Human Rights Commission vote as lawmakers objected the reduction of the vote from K2.059 billion to K1.952 billion.
The lawmakers argued that MHRC is crucial in the rollout of the Access to Information law.
While acknowledging the importance of the vote, Chithyola Banda said Treasury will look at how best to address the issue so that the operations of MHRC are not affected.
Parliament passes Revised National Budget
On his part,the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Madalitso Kazombo, MP, commended Members from both sides of the House for their active participation in the budget passing process.
Today, the legislators are also expected to meet at 9:30 to proceed their importation discussions.
Minister of Youth and Sports, Uchizi Mkandawire has urged Malawian youths to be transformative and innovative leaders for them to drive the nation’s development.
Mkandawire made the remarks on Monday when he was presiding over the YouthConnect Malawi Expo at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe.
The Minister emphasized that Malawian youths should take the YouthConnekt initiative seriously in order to benefit from the vast opportunities offered by YouthConnect Africa.
Hon Uchizi Mkandawire
He assured that the government of Malawi remains committed to providing crucial support to the youth at both local and international levels, in terms of leadership programs and financial backing to ensure their diverse talents and innovative ideas fulfil their potential.
Mkandawire highlighted the impact of YouthConnect Expo as a valuable platform for promoting visibility, networking, and collaboration among the youth in the country.
He further appealed to international organizations and partners to join hands with the government in funding various youth initiatives that have the potential to promote social and economic development of the nation.
In his remarks, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Deputy Resident Representative, Challa Getachew, said youths play a great role as primary contributors to Malawi’s future forex earnings, hence the need to involve them in decision-making processes and empowering them economically.
He commended youths in Malawi for being catalysts of change in improving social-economic indicators and advocated for innovative programs like the YouthConnect Malawi Expo to create an inclusive platform for the development of all youth.
He added that UNDP will keep supporting Malawi to become an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation through youth empowerment.
The YouthConnekt platform is a regional initiative dedicated to unlocking African youth’s creative and leadership potential, fostering a mindset change, and driving transformation in civic, economic, and political spheres.
In Malawi, the YouthConnekt Chapter is implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, with technical and financial support from UNDP, UNFPA, and UNICEF.
The initiative represents an innovative approach that aims to connect young individuals with opportunities for skill development, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
By providing a platform for networking and partnerships focused on youth, the initiative seeks to contribute to the overall socio-economic development of Malawi.
The YouthConnect Malawi Expo has been designed to celebrate young talent, encourage networking, and provide a platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration.
