A facelift of Malawi’s Bingu National Stadium is expected to take place in advance of this month’s fourth four-nation competition.
The tournament sanctioned by FIFA as a pilot project has attracted four national teams namely host Malawi, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and neighboring Zambia.
The ministry of Youth and Sports told The Nation newspaper that it expects Football Association of Malawi (FAM) to replace damaged chairs at the stadium before hosting the tournament.
Unruly fans destroyed 239 plastic chairs worth of value during the Silver Strikers vs. Mighty Mukuru Wanderers Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal match.
Also, fans damaged 145 seats during the December 31 Castel Challenge Cup final between FCB Nyasa Bullets and Silver Strikers.
Jameson Ndalama, Director of Sports, states that replacing the seats is necessary before using the stadium.
“We don’t think anyone will consider holding games at Bingu National Stadium if they are aware that they haven’t replaced the broken chairs as per their obligation,” he stated.
This means FAM only has one week and some days to fix the damaged chairs before hosting the four-nation tournament.
The competition gives national teams a chance to play against top competition ahead of their forthcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2025 AfCON qualification campaigns.
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In order to prepare them for the impending 2024 AfCON Under 20 qualifications later this year, the U20 national teams will also participate in a young competition over the same period.
