Sulom apology snubs Wanderers, Karonga United, offers no clarity on fan compensation

The Super League of Malawi (Sulom) has issued an apology following the abandoned league opener, but the statement has drawn criticism for overlooking the concerns of both Mighty Wanderers and Karonga United, the two teams that incurred high costs despite not playing.

The apology also failed to address how fans who attended the match would be compensated, a key issue that contributed to unrest on Saturday.

In what it described as a heartfelt letter, SULOM accepted full responsibility for the decisions that led to the cancellation.

The match was called off in the presence of several high-profile figures, including Sports Minister Alfred Gangata, Fleetwood Haiya, sponsors, and other dignitaries.

However, the statement did not clarify the fate of gate revenue collected, another major source of frustration among supporters.

While Sulom expressed regret over the disruption of the highly anticipated fixture, it provided no clear guidance on a possible replay or rescheduling of the match.

The body only indicated that it would engage with sponsor FDH Bank and provide updates after further discussions.

The match reportedly generated K16.4 million kwacha. From this, each team received K3.4 million, FAM collected K628,000, and Sulo. retained K1.257 million.

The remaining funds were allocated to the Sports Council, security, stewards, ground levies, and other operational costs.

The fixture was ultimately cancelled after FAM, through its Club Licensing First Instance Body (FIB), declared Kamuzu Stadium unfit to host matches, a decision SULOM had initially resisted.

The incident has had wider repercussions, with FDH Bank distancing itself from football sponsorship pending a review.

The bank described the events as damaging and warned that they could negatively affect its corporate image.