…vows to maximize club football revenues…
Super League of Malawi (Sulom) President-elect Tiya Somba Banda says his leadership will strive to move the league from amateur to professional level.
The current Sulom treasurer is on the verge of replacing Innocent Botomani as the body’s President after he was nominated for the position by all the 16 teams ahead of an elective Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Salima.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Malawi24, Somba Banda said that his administration will create a conducive environment for the game to commercialize.
“As a country and as Sulom, our main aspiration is to turn our football status into a professional league from the amateur state that we are in. This will be our focal point during the coming tenure. Finances are the major challenge for us to attain this status, therefore, it is the leadership of Sulom responsibility to ensure that we create a conducive environment for our club to commercialize, football to make business sense as viable economic venture,” he explained.
He further added that once this is done, clubs will be able to achieve club licensing requirements.
“Once we make business sense on our football, the whole club licensing requirements will be achieved and we will easily migrate to professional status,” said Somba Banda.
The former Escom United administrator revealed that under his leadership, Sulom will maximize club football revenues.
He said this will be achieved by continuously improving gate revenue controls during match days.
“Sulom will also implement advanced and e-ticketing systems, introduce match day hospitality, cement co-sponsorship and multiple partnerships, revolutionise the packaging of media rights and maximise potential revenue from merchandise,” he added.
Somba Banda also vowed to encourage local clubs to participate in the continental competitions, saying his leadership will establish an annual CAF participation package for the league champions.
“Participating in CAF is paramount in improving both football standards and commercial viability of the clubs. The international competition not only represents an opportunity to compete against the best in the continent, but it also exposes the club’s sponsors and partners to wider market beyond Malawi and Africa,” he concluded.
Delegates at the AGM will elect new office bearers, with Somba Banda and General Secretary Williams Banda given a vote of confidence from the teams but the rest of the positions will be competed for by the aspiring members.
