Death at Match Prompts Emergency Response Changes in Women’s League

The National Bank of Malawi National Women’s Premiership provided improved standards at Mzuzu Stadium, with an ambulance and first aid crew available when Moyale Barracks Sisters hosted Silver Strikers Ladies on Sunday.

This comes after a tragic incident last Friday that saw a life lost due to the unavailability of an ambulance and first aid assistance. Agness Mkandawire, mother of FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Women official Melina Mkandawire, collapsed after the final whistle when Bullets Women beat MK Academy 2-0.

Due to the absence of emergency medical assistance, players and officials carried Mkandawire in the rain to the team’s bus in a bid to save her life. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital, as confirmed by the team’s official page on Saturday.

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Meanwhile, the back page of a national newspaper on Sunday highlighted the same issue, noting that the league has low standards as far as medical personnel are concerned.

Wa Mpira has made the same observation through their reporter in Blantyre, noting that an ambulance was made available only at the official opening match between FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Women and Kukoma Ntopwa Queens and its reverse fixture in the second round.

Poor marketing strategies and branding from the sponsor, poor officiating, and poor allocation of fixtures are among the problems plaguing the league.

A similar incident occurred when FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Women hosted Moyale Sisters at Mpira Stadium. A collision between players from both teams led to serious injuries, and a Moyale player lacked assistance due to the absence of an ambulance and unavailability of adequate medical resources, despite mutual efforts from both teams to treat the player.

On Sunday, an ambulance was made available at Mzuzu Stadium, bringing a sigh of relief to players and officials in the game and particularly in the league. This could mark the beginning of improved standards for the league.

Soccer analyst Justin Mitambo said women need more care because they are physically more vulnerable than men, even though the physicality of the game is the same.

“These medical services are paid through gate revenue in men’s football, and maybe women’s football is struggling because their games are free. But we don’t need to learn about the dangers of something through bitter experience,” he said.

“These first aid services are for players, officials, and also supporters, and there is a need to make them available. The incident in Mzuzu could involve a player one day, and interest among women to take part in the sport will drastically go down,” said Mitambo.

Women’s football has been a victim of not earning full support compared to men’s football, mostly at club level, as there is a big gap in terms of support and finance between the two.