By George Mponda
Mzuzu, August 17, Mana: Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has with effect from Wednesday August 16, 2023 banned Mzuzu and Civo Stadiums from hosting official elite football matches.
According to a memo which FAM Chief Executive Officer, Alfred Gunda has released, the matches include the Super League and knockout competitions at national level.
"Recently, FAM instituted inspections which were conducted on July 27, 2023, at Mzuzu Stadium as part of the stadium’s assement under FAM Club Licensing. We regret to inform Mzuzu City Council (MCC) that the stadium does not meet the minimum requirements and consequently banned from hosting official matches under FAM,” reads part of the memo.
According to FAM, Mzuzu Stadium has been banned due to poor state of the pitch, official authorized capacity not known, poor players tunnel, missing technical benches, poor condition of perimeter fence, poor dressing rooms, no public address system and dilapidated scoreboard.
For Civo Stadium, the main highlights are non-functional public toilets, official authorised capacity not known, non-functional public address system, poor condition of perimeter fence and lack of scoreboard, among others.
FAM has since appelaed to authorities for both stadiums to initiate renovations after which they will be inspected again upon invitation.
Reacting to the development, Benjamin Thole, Team Manager for Ekwendeni Hammers who use Mzuzu Stadium as their home ground said he was disappointed with the development.
"It has come as a surprise that FAM has decided to close Mzuzu Stadium which is in the similar condition as Dedza and Kasungu stadiums.
“However, we will sit down with officials from Moyale Barracks FC and Mzuzu City Council to map the way forward," Thole said.
Thole said his team might consider using Rumphi Stadium which is he said is costly and the teams is currently already resource challenged.
When contacted, Spokesperson for MCC, McDonald Gondwe said their office has not yet recieved an official communication on the issue.
