Airtel Malawi unveils K360m landmark netball package
A new chapter has been written in the history of the country’s sports with the unveiling of a K360 million landmark netball sponsorship by giant telecommunications’ operator Airtel through its upcoming brand Airtel Money.
The unveiling ceremony took place Thursday night (October 10, 2013) at the Bingu International Conference Centre in the capital city, Lilongwe.
Addressing the large audience that turned up to witness the occasion, Airtel Mobile Commerce Limited board chairman Saulos Chilima said the sponsorship package, which will cover a three-year period is aimed at
encouraging the Malawi national netball team- the Queens to go an extra mile and become the top netball team in the world.
“Our guest of honour, ladies and gentlemen, tonight marks the Genesis of the Exodus on this journey that Airtel Money is embarking on wit the Malawi Queens and the netball fraternity. Tonight, we prove to you
and ourselves that sponsorship must be done properly. You either sponsor or you don’t. There is no middle ground.
“This event marks the renaissance of visionary sports sponsorships that are intended to add value and facilitate growth and progression of our athletes to that in future they can look back and say- once upon a time, there was launched a sponsorship that has helped transform my life,” said Chilima.
The board chair, who is also managing director of Airtel Malawi disclosed the sponsorship would also carter for insurance of the Queens when they travel or get injured during a competition.
Quoting one philosopher Albert Einstein, who described insanity as ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result,’ Chilima urged all stake holders involved to ‘think, act and behave different in order to make the sponsorship better and greater.’
Principal Secretary for Youth and Sports Justin Saidi, who presided over the ceremony as guest of honour in light of the dissolution of the Cabinet by President Joyce Banda, hailed Airtel for recognizing the economic potential and clout of women.
“We cannot continue to undermine the most popular women sport and treat it as a Cinderella sport. As a ministry, we are optimistic that the sponsorship of a national netball cup and the Queens will help showcase the tremendous potential that we have in netball,” said Saidi.
Saidi urged Netball Association of Malawi (Nam) to exercise maximum prudence in the administration of the funds from Airtel Money.
Netball Association of Malawi (Nam) president Rosy Chinunda said the netball fraternity was extremely overjoyed and grateful to Airtel for the sponsorship.
She said the sponsorship would help her association achieve its objective of moving the Queens from position number five in the world into the top four as well as winning a medal at the 2014 Commonwealth
Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
According to terms of the sponsorship, the K360 million carters for a three-year period with K120 million invested for a national cup competition and the Queens’ sponsorship each year.
The breakdown for the first year of the sponsorship deal is as follows: Launch activities K21 million, District prizes K18.6 million, Regional prizes K11.2 million, National prizes K15.7 million, Nam administration K6 million, Queens sponsorship K25.6 million, Teams uniforms, equipment K22.4 million, Prize giving ceremony K3 million.
