Malawi’s FDH Premiership and Flames sponsorship suspended

FDH Bank has suspended all sports sponsorship in Malawi, including support for the national team and the FDH Premiership, due to a standoff between the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and the Super League of Malawi (SULOM).

The commercial bank announced the decision on Sunday, 26 April 2026, a day after the 2026-2027 FDH Premiership official opening game between Mighty Wanderers and Karonga United failed to take place.

The game was not played due to a disagreement between FAM and its affiliate, SULOM, over the latter’s choice of Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre for the official match, even though the facility was not certified fit to host elite games. FAM maintains that the stadium failed to meet Club Licensing requirements.

Wanderers, the defending league champions, Karonga United, and officials from the bank turned up for the match in vain.

Why FDH Bank is withdrawing support in Malawi

Fixtures to continue as scheduled pic.twitter.com/i4RDBTUXB5

— Super League of Malawi (@SulomMW) April 26, 2026

In a formal statement, FDH Bank explained that the feud has tainted its brand image, hence the decision to withhold sponsorship.

“The unfortunate impasse between the Super League of Malawi (SULOM) and the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) undermines the commercial viability of our partnerships and negatively impacts the FDH Bank Plc brand image. In respect of the above, FDH Bank has immediately suspended all sports-related sponsorships and activities pending review,” reads the statement.

SULOM also released a statement on Sunday, 26 April 2026, apologising to FDH Bank for the unfortunate incident and adding that all other scheduled games will proceed.

Reports indicate that there was a heated discussion between officials from FAM, SULOM, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (the stadium owners). The Ministry had initially given the green light to have the official game played on Saturday, specifically to protect the interests of the league sponsor, FDH Bank.

Pan Africa Football has seen the letter from the Ministry giving the nod to the game after the bank had asked for a waiver to have the match played at the Blantyre facility for the sake of the launch activities. Earlier, FAM had stopped SULOM from scheduling the FDH Premiership match at the stadium because it is not certified to host games.

On 14 April, FAM announced that the historic Blantyre-based venue had not met Club Licensing requirements for hosting matches. The association stated that the stadium owners had not addressed specific concerns ahead of the new season.

However, before that announcement, SULOM had already released fixtures for the entire season—running from April 25, 2026, to February 2027—with some games involving Blantyre-based Wanderers, FCB Big Bullets, and Ekhaya FC scheduled for Kamuzu Stadium. In view of this, SULOM stuck to the fixtures, indicating that Wanderers would host Karonga United at the same 18,000-seater facility. The capacity of the stadium was reduced from around 45,000 over 15 years ago due to its dilapidated state.

Genesis of the Kamuzu Stadium standoff

In reaction, FAM released a statement on Friday, 24 April 2026, maintaining its stance that the game could not take place at the stadium in question.

“The Football Association of Malawi wishes to inform its stakeholders and the general public that Kamuzu Stadium remains closed and is currently not approved to host elite football matches,” the statement reads. “This follows earlier communication, after preliminary assessments indicated that the facility does not meet the required standards for hosting top-tier fixtures. In view of this, the FDH Premier League launch match between Mighty Wanderers FC and Karonga United FC, scheduled for 25 April 2026, cannot be played at Kamuzu Stadium.”

FAM has since warned SULOM against scheduling games at the venue.

“FAM emphasises that no matches will be authorised at the stadium until a comprehensive inspection is completed and a formal determination is made on its compliance status… failure to comply with this directive shall result in disciplinary action in accordance with Articles 15, 16, 17, and 55 of the FAM Statutes.”

There is a critical shortage of match venues in Blantyre, with the only other option being the FAM-owned Mpira Stadium. However, its capacity is only around 10,000, posing a security risk for crowd-pulling matches involving Wanderers. Overall, Malawi only has Bingu National Stadium as a FIFA and CAF-approved venue for international matches.

The Blantyre-based venue used to host FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers until around 2016, when it was condemned due to its dilapidated state. Most of its terraces were cordoned off and its capacity was significantly reduced. On 14 April 2026, FAM Competitions and Licensing Manager Clement Kafwafwa confirmed they ruled out the stadium after the owner failed to address shortcomings observed during an inspection.