Newly promoted Karonga united will need at least K55 million for it to participate fully in the 2018 TNM Super League.
Chairperson for the Club, Alufeyo Chipanga said this Monday in an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) in Karonga that any contribution to the team would be welcomed.
He said the club has a budget of K55 million to be used during the coming season and this could be achieved if many stakeholders would be forthcoming to assist.
“We are currently on how will cater for our transportation and to procure football boots for our players. We need to raise this amount before the season kicks off on April 1, 2018,” Chipanga said.
He disclosed that the team is regrouping on February 1, 2018 in preparation for the kickoff of next season.
Chipanga said the club need to have intensive preparation for the league in order to remain in the top flight unlike what happened in 2016 season where they were relegated to Simama league.
“Our new coach has arrived and he is ready to take charge of the team. We have roped in new players from Simama, Chipuku and Super league teams,” the Chairperson explained.
He said companies and individuals are encouraged to support us and see how we would handle their support.
Karonga’s second coming to the TNM Super League is vital since their have now their own home ground.
The Karonga based side used to have Mzuzu stadium as their home ground and this will help them cut cost on transportation when playing host to travelling teams.
Karonga has no sponsorship and is a community based team which largely depends on the community and well-wishers contribution for its operations.
Newly promoted teams like Max Bullets and Blantyre United in the past two season struggled financially in order to cope up with the demands of the league.
Former Football Association of Malawi (FAM) General Secretary, George Kaudza Masina has hailed management of Karonga Football Club for formulating their season budget.
He said this would help them to see how effective they would use the financial resources they will get from various stakeholders.
“It is my hope that various stakeholders will respond to their appeal. We need clubs to play comfortably in the league and issues of finances should not be used as bottleneck to their progression,” Masina explained.
A Dowa based soccer fan, Eric Kamanga said since the club has a task ahead of them they need to venture into fund raising drive in order to raise the amount.
“They have two months, February and March to do fund raising activities such as playing friendly matches, inviting local bands to perform and ask for contribution from members of parliament from Karonga or even Chitipa. The Business community should be engaged meaningfully in this drive,” he suggested.
Karonga United is one of the three teams from Northern region who are in the Super league and the two others are Moyale Barracks and Mzuni.
Karonga Stadium was officially opened on Saturday, January 27, 2018 by Minister of Local Government and rural Development, Kondwani Nankhumwa.
The stadium once hosted a Super League encounter involving relegated Chitipa United and Champions, Be forward Wanderers which ended in stalemate.
