Flames gets timely boost of K50 million from Carlsberg Malawi

Ahead of Saturday’s crucial Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match against Zimbabwe, the Malawi national football team, the Flames have received a timely boost from their official sponsor Carlsberg Malawi Limited who have donated K50 million kwacha towards the team’s upcoming assignments.

Speaking after presenting the donation to the team at Mpira Village in Blantyre, Senior Brands Manager for Alcoholic Beverages at Carlsberg Twikale Chirwa said they felt of making the donation to the Flames considering their status of being an official sponsor.

“It’s an obligation for Carlsberg Malawi Limited to provide the support to the Flames whenever needed. We are the Flames’ official sponsor and felt the need to help the team fulfill its upcoming assignments. We are committed towards the relationship we share with the Football Association of Malawi regarding the Flames and hope to maintain it,” said Chirwa.

However, Chirwa appealed to the team to start producing positive results starting with Saturday’s encounter with Zimbabwe’s warriors.

He said as sponsors, they will only feel appreciated if the team can put back the smiles on many Malawian soccer loving fans.

“Everyone knows that the team has been going through a bad patch. It’s now time to turn the corner and hope we can start with Zimbabwe on Saturday. You have the responsibility to restore the national pride by beating Zimbabwe. The onus is on you and I believe you can do it for the nation,” said Chirwa as he received praise from Flames players and FAM officials.

In his remarks, FAM President Walter Nyamilandu Manda commended Carlsberg for what he called a timely donation. The FAM President said the donation guarantees Flames participation at this year’s COSAFA cup competition scheduled for Windoek, Namibia from 12-25 June.

“We can be assured of the team’s participation at this year’s COSAFA competition courtesy of Carlsberg Malawi. They have been so committed to the marriage we share and we thank Carlsberg management for the continued support. This is a big motivation to the players.  Believe me, we will pull a shocker in Zimbabwe. I have the belief in the current crop of players we have assembled,” said the former Flames defender.

Nyamilandu also hinted that without Carlsberg, they would not have been where they are now. He said the annual allocation they receive from government through the Malawi National Council of Sports is not enough to fulfill the team’s assignments throughout the year.

Commenting on their tenure since taking charge of the Flames, Assistant Coach Nswazurimo Ramadhan said it would not be good to call them failures at this point in time having failed to register a win in the ongoing AFCON qualifiers. He said they still have mathematical chances of qualifying for the finals.

“Calling us failures this time would be wrong. Judge us after Saturday’s game. We have been rebuilding the team since taking over and we believe it’s time now to start getting positive results. Right now, the head Coach is in Zimbabwe for footballing reasons and I can assure the nation that we are only dreaming of one result, that’s a victory,” said the former Bullets Coach.

Following Carlsberg donation, FAM is contemplating of securing a friendly for the team before they travel to Namibia for COSAFA cup games. FAM president Walter Nyamilandu confirmed the shot. He said if they happen to secure a friendly for the Flames before Saturday, the team will then fly direct to the country where the friendly has been secured before connecting to Windhoek, Namibia.

The Flames are in group B alongside Angola, Mauritius and Lesotho at this year’s COSAFA competition. Their first game will be against Angola.

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