Malawi champs change name to Nyasa Big Bullets: Chiukepo lauds teammates

Malawi’s most prestigious football team, Big Bullets who inked a $900,000 sponsorship deal with the country’s sole cigarette manufacturer Nyasa Manufacturing Company (NMC), have announced change of name to Nyasa Big Bullets after rolling out of the sponsorship deal from Jnauary 1, the club’s chairman Samuel Chilunga has said.

Chilunga said the team’s name has since changed from Big Bullets to Nyasa Big Bullets in accordance with the agreement which he described as “a strategic business partnership”.

“As per the contract agreement, the partnership officially came into effect on January 1. The funding will be coming in monthly tranches and we expect to get the first tranche this coming week,” said Chilunga.

The  1967-founded team will be getting K100 million per season.

Nyasa managing director Demo Kalaitzis said : “We saw it wise to partner the biggest football team in the country. We want to use Bullets brand to market our products and we believe it is a viable deal.”

He called on Malawians to support Nyasa cigarette brands such as Super King, Super Menthol, 2010 Menthol, 2010 Virginia and Nyasa Fodya.

Bullets, defending champions of the country’s TNM Super League back-to-back and who command the biggest fan base in the country, has been without sponsorship for nine years since former president Bakili Muluzi sponsored them for two years.

Chiukepo says ‘thank you’

Meanwhile, Bullets FC striker Chiukepo Msowoya has attributed his success at the club to good coordination with teammates.

Chiukepo was brought to Malawi’s top league champions while struggling for form due to among other things injury plague.

But the burly forward has proved that he has not lost his magic boots which took him to South Africa’s top league giants Orlando Pirates. He inspired Bullets to defend the title by scoring 14 league goals to become joint top-goal scorer alongside Red Lions’ Innocent Bokosi earning himself best striker accolade at his club.

“I am grateful to Bullets for playing a critical role in reviving my career. In this vain I would like to thank my fellow players for warmly welcoming me at the club,” he said.

“If it wasn’t for their support I would not have managed to achieve what I have achieved just during my debut season at Bullets.”

He also attributed his success to divine intervention after a not-so-rosy time while playing professional football especially at Orlando Pirates and Mozambique top league’s Costol do Sol where he was released as a free agent.

Former Bullets coach Burundian tactician Nsanzarwimo Ramadhan had confidence in the player and was instrumental in bringing him to the Red Army.

He has also been re-established his mark as a prolific national team striker having scored critical goals under the tutelage of coach Ernest Mtawali.

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