NAM salutes MPICO for tripling Gateway netball sponsorship
Netball Association of Malawi (Nam) has saluted Malawi Property Investment Company (MPICO) for tripling the sponsorship for Gateway Netball Challenge Trophy, saying the development is likely going to increase competition amongst the participating teams.
The property investment company announced last week it has increased the sponsorship for the regional tournament from K8 million to K25 million.
“This is really a positive development for netball. Nobody, including myself expected the sponsorship to shoot from K8 million to K25 million. We were not even sure if MPICO was continuing with the sponsorship or not.
“The increase in the sponsorship amount is going to increase both participation and the competition and the benefits will trickle down to our national netball team, the Queens,” said Chinunda in an interview.
The outgoing Nam president urged Central Region Netball Committee (CRNC) to jealously guard the sponsorship by administering the competition in a professional manner and exercise accountability in the handling of funds.
CRNC chairman Fanwell Katengeza pledged total commitment from his committee in the running of the tournament. He disclosed that with the increase, the competition will now start from the districts with each and every district champion and the runners-ups getting prizes.
MPICO’s operations and marketing manager Ellen Chapinduka Nyasulu said the company decided to triple the sponsorship after being impressed with the way the Katengeza-led committee administered the tournament last year.
“Our managing director already made a commitment for continued sponsorship during the presentation last year but the increase in the sponsorship amount came about after assessing the performance of the regional committee. We had no problems with the committee and everything went on smoothly.
“We are now looking forward to a long term partnership with Central Region Netball Committee because our aim is to contribute to the development of netball in the country by creating a platform for players to showcase their skills,” said Nyasulu.
