TNM ends romance with Super League of Malawi: Sponsorship officially withdrawn
Malawi premier mobile and data servicer provider TNM has formally announced that it has withdrawn its sponsorship to the flagship Super League sponsorship following Competition and Fair Trade Commission (CFTC) ruling that when renewing the contract, clauses that stop Super League of Malawi (Sulom) and clubs from entering agreements with other mobile service providers should be scraped off.
TNM Chief Executive Office Douglas Steveson said in a letter to president of Sulom and copied to Football Association of Malawi (FAM) that the company has made the decision to “fully withdraw from sponsorship of the Super League and let other potential sponsors take part in the continued development of the sport in Malawi.”
Steveson said TNM “acknowledged and abides” by the determination made by the CFTC and would not want to be found acting in a manner that has “negative effects on the development of football in Malawi.”
He said TNM has invested an equivalent of over K2.6billion towards the Super League in the past 10 years in both sponsorship money and other investments in the league development.
“Sulom is therefore at liberty to now engage with any willing sponsor who has interest in football,” Osman said.
“TNM would like to thank Sulom, FAM, all the soccer fans and the company’s loyal subscribers for the opportunity given [to] them to grow with the league over the past 10 years.
“We hope that the progress football has made, significantly due to our decade long dedidctaion to the Super League can be leveraged by future sponsors for the good of the sport,” Steveson said.
According to the contract for the Super League sponsorship, TNM entrusted Sulom with the responsibility to refrain from entering other agreements which would restrict or prevent them from providing the rights granted to TNM.
But CFTC ruled that this is against Competition and Fair Trading Commission Act.
“In its determination, the commission established that the sponsorship agreement that TNM signed with Sulom had some clauses that were restrictive and potentially prevented Sulom and football teams participating in the Super League from accessing sponsorship from competitors of TNM,” reads a CFTC ruling.
Sulom general secretary Williams Banda said the withdraw of TNM is “big blow” to Malawi football.
Banda said Sulom will now go into sponsorship hunt for the flagship leagye but conceded it will be tough to get another sponsor a month before the season kicks off next month.
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gat nothing to say on that one
bushiri wea yu pulizi…….bushiri super legue
TNM was greedy.It never allowed Airtel to sponsor a club in the league.We had Barclays Bank sponsoring EPL in England and Standard Chartered Bank sponsoring Liverpool FC.Teams had TNM inscribed on the jerseys without any other sponsor of jerseys.In EPLa jersey has league sponsor logo on the arm,jersey manufacturer(Nike et al) in front and team sponsor in front too.Here in Malawi it was TNM all over the jersey.That was not on.A better sponsor will be found.Looking forward to a day when say Carlsberg will sponsor a league/cup and Chibuku sponsoring a team in the same league/cup.
Now that TNM is out will Airtel sponsor the League? it was not just about the Prize money and club subvention, TNM was also buying Football KIts for all the team (would you let a competitor advertise on a shirt you bought?), footballs, Uniforms for referees, Track suits for team officials etc.
Good move for TNM, bad for the game of football. Those who have been complaining to CFTC should naw use the opportunity to sponsor the league if all all they were acting in good faith.
tipaseni account number a SULOM tiyambepo apa ma K300 ikwana ya sponsorship season ino…amalawi tisonkha zazingono izi….anthu 1000000 kusonkha K300 ndi K300,000,000 ikwana imeneyo…inanso mubapo a SULOM inu zitheka
Malawians lets just contribute K300 each to curter for this 2017/18 Super League zitheka ndithu. Ndi anthu 500 000 okha kupeleka K300 aliyense titolera K150,000,000 yomwe tiyendesele Ligi season imeneyi..a SULOM tipaseni account number tiyambepo muone week ino ikamatha ndlama ikwana. tikudikira inu a SULOM. Sponsor winayo azayambe 2018/19 season koma pano tipanga tokha sponsor zitheka izi…..ikhala “MALAWI SUPER LEAGUE”
Chaka Chino Ndalima “Chamba” Chambili ,Nde Musadandaule Ndipanga Sponsor Ship Ya Zaka Five,yolimbilana Matumba A Chamba 20 .
Mpira wa paMalawi palibe chabwino ndimaonapo ine. Ku maclubs nde worse. Masapota zochitika zao ngati anthu opanda brain mxiii!
CATCH should come in the open on details of specific entities that filed complaints against TNM. There is no need for Sulam to go on wild hunting, these companies they have got their wishes and should come in forth to take over the sponsorship. Osamangoti chili kwamzako chigwile nyanga
Believe me, a TNM tizawalira, tataya nkhwali chifukwa choona mawanga a nkhanga. A FAM amayenera kupanga zinthu mosata ndondomeko polingalira zomwe zinali mu contract ya TNM. Ndikukuuzani APA kuti mmene kwacha yavutira pa Malawi, I don’t think kuti tipata sponser wina mophweka. Kungoonetseratu kuti kutsogolo kwathu kuli Mbalame za anthu, anasaina contract asanawerenge. Pakangotha 2 months musanapeze sponser tibwera mmakwanu inu a FAM tizatenge chithandizo chothandizira super league.
Have yo ever had a look to the Competition and Fair Trading Act?
Just go to those who said its unfair period.