SUPER LEAGUE OF MALAWI PRESIDENCY BID MANIFESTO PRESENTED

BY INNOCENT BOTTOMAN
TRANSFORMING SUPER LEAGUE FOOTBALL FROM A PASTIME TO A BUSINESS
VENTURE
1. PREAMBLE
The SULOM administration that I have led the past 4yrs took office at a very
difficult time. As we took off, the relationship between the mother body,
Football Association of Malawi (FAM)
and SULOM was frosty; acts of
hooliganism at Super league matches were commonplace; in-fighting within
SULOM was rampant; discipline was slack; public confidence in SULOM was
rock bottom; the general outlook about SULOMs future was bleak.
With determination, bravely, focus, high sense of responsibility, maturity, a
good degree of competence and integrity, my administration embarked on a
tough task of repairing the damage done to SULOM and 48 months on, here
we are; the situation is much healthier and SULOM Is truly back on track.
2. WHAT WE ACHIEVED:
As we took over the SULOM mantle, the organization was beset with many
problems and to correct the anomalies, we proceeded to do the following:

Mended fences with FAM, paving the way for a cordial working
relationship between us, a situation that led to massive support in
various forms flowing from the mother body to us wherever and
whenever possible.
Put together a panel that organized seminars and workshops to
sensitize the masses against indulging in acts of hooliganism. The
initiative ultimately paid dividends as occurrence of such cases
reduced markedly.
Established a multi-sectoral committee on safety and security meant to
ensure that matches were violence-free. The move succeeded in reassuring the patrons and numbers of fans attending matches rose
sharply and the high volume of match attendees has so far been
sustained.
Worked hard to maintain discipline amongst executive committee
members of SULOM as one way of upholding a modicum of order. To
that end, we have done very well; all SULOM Executive Committee
members have behaved themselves in an exemplary manner all along.
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The mature way in which they have acted has helped the organization
to keep confidential information secure and SULOM is once again taken
seriously by the public who previously were bombarded with leaked
dossiers that only managed to destroy its image.
Successfully re-negotiated both an extension of league sponsorship
with TNM for 5yrs and the increase in prize money. This is testimony to
the fact that TNM was satisfied with my administration; otherwise they
would have easily walked away from us if they were not convinced with
our performance in office.
Improved communication with the media who, in turn, projected pretty
well our activities on a continuous basis.

3. CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED
The good news about what we have accomplished during our time in
office has not been without challenges. In the course of discharging our
noble duties aimed at enhancing soccer standards in the Super league,
we encountered some challenges that included the following:
Newly promoted non-institutional teams failing year-in-year-out to
stay up; always managing only to peep in the Super league before
crushing out to regional leagues. Insufficient resources and lack of
appropriate technical expertise has meant that the sides from the
Lower divisions are largely ill-equipped to match the demands and
rigors of Super league football.
All Super league clubs have struggled for resources required to
meet accommodation, food and transport expenses for their onthe-road fixtures. And their bank accounts are perpetually in the
red too.
Lack of venues where the majority of clubs are based has led to
club sides travelling long distances to fulfill fixtures. For example,
Blantyre based clubs travel to Nchalo or Balaka for home matches.
The expenses they incur to get to these far-flung locations actually
eat into their revenue portion.
Lack of TV involvement in beaming live matches is a lost revenue
source. Without TV coverage of matches, clubs cannot balance their
books.
Lack of resources has also affected the development of standards
of the game in Super league in that none of them is able to
participate in either of the continental Confederation of African
Football (Caf) competitions
i.e. Champions
league and
Confederations Cup since 2004 when Big Bullets did so.
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4. MY 2ND TERM SOCCER PROJECT: TURNING SUPER LEAGUE

FOOTBALL INTO A BUSINESS ENTITY
After stabilizing operations of the Super league in the past 4yrs and
taking note of outstanding challenges therein, I am convinced that the
fortunes of the top flight league can really change for the better if, the
league goes professional.
This would basically be in line with the 2009 Declaration made by
Super League Clubs at a FIFA Workshop that took place at Lilongwe
Hotel in September of that year.
The major thrust of the Soccer Project in my 2nd Term is as follows:
(a)

CHANGING THE ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES

At present the administrative structures of both SULOM and the club

sides is such that the elected officials run the affairs of the
respective bodies on a day to day basis. This set up is unsuitable for
professional football management and my plan is to shake up things
by changing the administrative structures whereby day to day
running of the two entities would be done by employed personnel at
a secretariat with a Board of Trustees/Board of Directors overseeing
affairs from above.
At the secretariat for either SULOM or club sides, amongst the staff
positions will be an Administration Manager/CEO; Accountant,
Commercial Manager; Marketing Manager etc.
(b)

PRESSING FOR SUPER LEAGUE TEAM OWNERSHIP

Since time immemorial Super league teams have either been mere
institutional social amenities of Government branches/statutory
bodies or have gotten support from individuals. Real legal
ownership of football clubs has not taken place. Attempts aimed at
doing so, have met with massive resistance, mainly from individuals
who for selfish reasons have felt that any type of ownership of the
clubs they claim to support will deprive them of the financial
benefits they currently derive from the existing order, hence the
insistence on upholding the status quo.
I am determined to change this retrogressive way of doing things. I
will be swift in pressing for revising the prevailing culture so that
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Super league clubs change their legal status with a view to attract
investment from the business community. Without clubs having
owners, there is no way clubs can prosper. At the moment, those
with money are unprepared to pump money into football clubs
because there is no guarantee that once they inject something into
the game, there will be sweet returns later.
I will therefore move very quickly to realize the dream of enticing
entrepreneurs to invest in football as a lucrative business avenue.

(c) BRINGING LIVE TV COVERAGE OF SUPER LEAGUE

MATCHES AND MANAGEMENT OF BROADCASTING RIGHTS
In modern football, real money comes from live TV coverage, not
gate fees. To boost the coffers of both SULOM and the club sides, I
will expedite engagement of local TV outlets to start beaming Super
league games live.
My wish is to see to it that football content is better produced,
packed and promoted to ensure that maximum coverage is
attained. SULOM shall exclusively own broadcasting rights and have
the liberty to sell to bidders as it sees fit.
Meanwhile I will also work on ensuring that the requirements to
qualify for SuperSport International channel are satisfied within the
next 2yrs. The growth of Super league football lies in live TV
coverage; anything short of that holds no future.
(d) ESTABLISHMENT OF A SUPER LEAGUE LOTTERY
In the quest to bring in more money into Super league football, I will
also push for setting up a Super league football lottery in unison
with partners like TNM with a view to raising huge sums that would
be re-distributed to Super league clubs.
(e) NEGOTIATING CHANGE OF POLICY ON LEVEL OF LEVIES
GROUND OWNERS DEDUCT
At the moment ground owners cart home 25% of revenue realized
at football venues. This rate has been in operation for ages and it
hits the pockets of the clubs very hard indeed. Inside a year of
commencing my 2nd term, I wish to see something different. I shall
negotiate with ground owners including Government to change their
policy of deducting 25% as ground levy and push for setting up
fixed hire rates instead. These rates would be determined by the
category of a given match. A high pressure, high risk and heavily
patronized match involving say, Big Bullets and Mighty Wanderers
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would be in a top notch grade whereas a fixture between Clubs on

the Lower end of the Super league would be in a lesser grade. That
way, Super league Clubs would be able to earn more from matches
that they play.
(f) GETTING PROMOTED REGIONAL TEAMS TO PLAY ON HOME
TURF
Often newly promoted regional football sides to the Super league do
not play home matches where they are located because their
facilities fail to meet minimum requirements of the top flight league.
The majority of them travel long distances to fulfill their home
fixtures; thus ending up losing lots of hard earned cash on transport
and other expenses.
To address this problem, I will work closely together with Local
Government, football authorities and international partners if
necessary in a bid to develop infrastructure at district level to
enable club sides fulfill their fixtures on home soil. The likes of
Mafco and Airborne Rangers ought to be using a football ground in
Salima as their home instead of Dwangwa as is the case at the
moment.
Last seasons case of relegated Karonga United for instance, with a
home ground that was about 200kms away in Mzuzu was not
healthy for football development and my administration is
determined to change such pathetic scenarios. To this end, I am
very determined to see it that all Super league sides play their
matches right at home or closer to where they are based.
(g) ACQUIRING A HOME FOR SULOM
Since its inception in 1998 SULOM has had no home of its own. It
has relied on space provided by FAM or rented premises. As the
organization grows, it is important that it should own its home. My
plan is to make sure that within 3yrs into my 2 nd term of office,
SULOM must operate in its own premises.
(h) INVESTING MORE RESOURCES IN HUMAN CAPITAL
Over the past 4yrs my administration has invested heavily in
training football personnel and it is my intention to scale up the
volume of resources directed towards investments into human
capital to increase competence and proficiency in areas such as
administration, refereeing, coaching and the media to prepare
everybody for operations of a professionalized Super league set-up.
(i) COLLABORATING
WITH
FOREIGN
PREMIER
FOOTBALL
PARTNERS
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In order to continue making strides in developing a professional

football league, I will hastily work out a twinning arrangement with
the likes of veteran professional leagues like Premier Soccer League
(PSL) of South Africa with a view to draw valuable lessons from their
experiences. If possible, as SULOM, we shall dispatch a delegation
to South Africa to learn how PSL is run. That way, we will be able to
expand our knowledge base on how to manage a professional
football league.
(j) MAXIMISING REVENUE COLLECTION ON THE TURNSTILES
Dishonesty at the turnstiles remains a major challenge to
maximizing collection of gate fees at basically all football venues.
Football clubs are losing huge sums through fraudulent activities
perpetrated by some soccer operatives and other bad elements. In
my 2nd term I desire to dedicate massive efforts to deal with this
scourge once and for all.
I shall work tirelessly with FAM and Government to put in a place a
gate management system that maximizes revenue and erases
abuse.
Clubs deserve to benefit fully from gate collections and all those
who pilfer money from the turnstiles have to be halted. Operation
costs of football clubs are very high; every kwacha is needed to go
towards the teams. There should be zero tolerance towards abuse of
gate fees.
(k) ENGAGING DIGITAL MEDIA CHANNELS
In order to connect well with the general public, I shall strengthen
the SULOM website, enhance the SMS avenue as a medium of
communication and delve more into churning out in-house
publications.
(l) PROMOTING SPORTS MEDICINE IN THE SUPER LEAGUE
To ensure that all players remain healthy at all times with more
emphasis also being placed on a drug-abuse free environment
within the Super league, SULOM will collaborate with FAM and health
authorities to promote the concept of sports medicine in football. In
this regard, SULOM shall make it a point that snap random dope
tests on the players become a way of life to avoid being caught
napping by the international body, the World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA) who frequently carry out such tests on athletes without
advance notice.
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Another area of concern is that of poor management of injuries

sustained by players that has led some of them to retire
prematurely. It will be the duty of SULOM to make sure that all club
sides have well qualified medics capable of managing complex
clinical challenges when they creep up. Unqualified medics will not
be accredited to sit on the bench of a Super league club.
(m)
SETTING UP A MECHANISM FOR MAINTAINING SANITY
OVER PLAYER TRANSFERS
At times club sides have gone about the business of buying and
selling players in a very bad way, flouting standing protocols willynilly. I am determined to bring sanity to all this by putting in place a
stringent mechanism whereby clubs will not be allowed to
commence transfer talks with a player of another side unless the
owners of the player are approached 1 st. To deter transgressions of
the standing protocols, any violations will attract stiff penalties.
(n) SULOM TO IMPLEMENT CLUB LICENCING TO THE FULL
As SULOM we are determined to fulfill all requirements of club
licensing. In this connection, we shall work 100% with FAM towards
meeting all parameters of Club licencensing. This will help expedite
the Club professionalization drive in the shortest possible time.
(n) LOBBYING GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT SUPER LEAGUE
TEAMS IN CAF
For a number of years super league teams have failed to participate
in Confederation of African Football (Caf) competitions due to lack of
resources.
My administration will continue to lobby Government to begin
supporting the local clubs so they can participate in the annual Caf
competitions. That way, local players will be able to gain the much
needed international experience crucially required for sound
national team performance.
(p) FORMULATING A STRATEGIC PLAN
To ensure that my manifesto is implemented in full, I will see to it
that all its contents are captured in a 3yr Strategic Plan that will be
formulated soonest. All the aspirations expressed above will have
clear timelines stipulating the period within which a given activity
has to commence and be completed. By the same token, I will
ensure that all Super league clubs have done their own Strategic
Plans which should act as a guide for their future direction as they
evolve into professional outfits.
5. CONCLUSION
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Since 2011 my administration has done its utmost in order to make a

difference in the way
Super league football is managed. Things
are much more stable today than they were 4yrs ago. Am very sure
that the football family has enjoyed watching Super league matches
under the peaceful and orderly conditions prevalent during my 1st
term tenure of office.
The agenda I wish to pursue in my 2nd term is purely about
professionalization of Super league football as per the 2009 Lilongwe
Declaration made by all Super league teams at a FIFA sponsored
Workshop. My Manifesto has spelled out what I wish to do and am
very hopeful that you will give me your support and renew my
mandate with a view to making sure that Super league football gets
heaved to a higher and more prosperous level.
Thank You!