Ministry sets deadline on Bingu National Stadium seats repairs

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has asked Football Association of Malawi (Fam) to ensure that Mighty Wanderers and Silver Strikers replace Bingu National Stadium seats before the start of the season.

This follows two separate incidents that happened during the 2023 Airtel Top 8 and Castel Challenge Cup final as people suspected to be the teams’ fans destroyed seats.

Ministry of Youth spokesperson Macmillan Mwale said it would be good to take advantage of the off-season break to replace all damaged seats.

“We are talking to Fam on the matter. It is our wish that the matter will be closed before the start of the season. This is also an opportune time as we are conducting routine maintenance [works],” Mwale said.

Wanderers were fined K22 million for damaging 239 seats during the 2023 Airtel Top 8 opener against Silver.

On the other hand, Silver were ordered to replace 145 seats following an incident that happened during the Castel Challenge Cup final against FCB Nyasa Big Bullets.

But the two teams are yet to replace the seats one year after the incidents.

The two teams committed, through Fam, to fix the seats.

Fam Competitions and Communications Director Gomezgani Zakazaka said the matter would be sorted out soon.

“The problem was [that] the supplier that the Ministry of Youth and Sports had referred us to has been delaying the process. So, we spoke with the ministry [‘s officials] this week to change and look for another supplier who looks responsive and will deliver,” Zakazaka said.

On his part, Wanderers Chief Executive Officer Panganeni Ndovi said they would fix the seats after a joint assessment with the ministry.

“We already got quotations for the seats. We are waiting for the ministry when they are ready for a further assessment,’’ he said.

Silver Chief Executive Officer Patrick Chimimba said they were committed to fixing the seats.

“We already discussed the matter,” Chimimba said.

Following the two incidents, the ministry threatened to close the facility to prevent teams from using it for domestic matches.