By Mabvuto Kambuwe & Mphatso Malidadi:
Reigning TNM Super League champions Silver Strikers Tuesday bowed down to Super League of Malawi (Sulom) pressure to stage their opening match against FCB Nyasa Big Bullets at Bingu National Stadium (BNS) in Lilongwe this coming Saturday.
This could be the end of the hullabaloo surrounding the venue for the 2025 TNM Super League season opener.
At the same time, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Coach Peter Mponda has fuelled the debate surrounding the venue by stating that he would have loved it if the match were played at Silver Stadium and not BNS.
Earlier on, Silver Chief Executive Officer Patrick Chimimba said they had accepted to play the match at BNS in the best interest of the game.
“We will proceed to play Bullets at Bingu Stadium. Let football be the winner,” Chimimba said.
The disagreements erupted between Silver and Sulom as the Bankers protested the latter’s decision to move the game to their second venue, or alternative-home ground, despite Silver Stadium being among the 11 facilities approved for the 2025 football season.
In a statement released on Monday, Silver had argued that Sulom failed to handle the matter in good faith.
“Their action contradicts the fairness, transparency and inclusivity principles they claim to be upholding under their “Revive, Reform and Rebrand” initiative.
“Silver does not take these threats lightly, as they are unfortunate and unnecessary. This approach undermines the league’s credibility and raises concerns about potential bias and actions that may be construed as match manipulation,” the letter reads.
Sulom Vice President Ronald Chiwaula said the matter was water the bridge.
“We understand there was tension but we thank the Silver board for accepting our request. We value them a lot and we hope other teams will borrow a leaf from what Silver have done,” Chiwaula said.
Chiwaula insisted that BNS was the ideal venue for a big match between the two sides.
“For security and safety reasons of our stakeholders, we thought it was not good to play the match at Silver Stadium,” he said.
Sulom had earlier threatened to ban Silver from participating in the league if they had not accepted to honour the fixture.
Meanwhile, Mponda, who led Silver to their first league title in 11 years before ditching the club at the end of the season, said he wanted the match to be played at Silver Stadium.
“I know it is about the launch and sponsors want to do their things [activations]. Since it is a launch game, it is understandable but as a coach I would love to play at Silver Stadium.
“As much as we cannot choose where to play, I would like to play the launch game at Silver. But it is solely upon what the sponsors and league organisers want. If it is Bingu, we will turn and play; whether at Nankhaka [Stadium], we will show up and play but Silver Stadium could have been the best venue,” Mponda said.
Silver and Bullets also met during the 2023 TNM Super League opener, which ended in a 1-1 stalemate at the same venue.
Former Flames striker Essau Kanyenda said the matter shows lack of seriousness on how to address disputes in the domestic game.
“The misunderstanding that has erupted between Sulom and Silver on the venue of the 2025 TNM Super League between the Bankers and Bullets is questionable. This really shows how we are not serious in developing our beautiful game.
“Check how these sort of differences are being solved in neighbouring countries, then compare with what we are trying to practice,” Kanyenda wrote on his Facebook page.
Meanwhile, Silver have announced gate charges for the league opener.
An advance standard ticket is pegged at K5,000 and K7,000 on match day.
An advance VIP ticket is going at K15,000 and K20,000 on match day.
A corporate box ticket is at K300,000.
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