Zomba central K500,000 football trophy launched: Kasambara hails Chikwemba for sponsorship
Aspiring parliamentarian for Zomba Central Constituency on People’s Party (PP) ticket Joseph Chikwemba on Saturday launched K500 000 football trophy after the old capital city has gone almost ten years without a trophy.
It was revealed during the launching ceremony at Chinamwali ground that since the days of the late United Democratic Front (UDF) Member of Parliament (MP) for the area Andrew Chioza, there has never been any constituency sports sponsorship from the incumbent MP Yunus Mussa.
Minister of Justice Ralph Kasambara graced the event as guest of honour and was accompanied by other officials.
Speaking before the launch, Kasambara said Zomba City needs a vibrant MP who can bring development and told the gathering that the aspiring Chikwemba will be their answer.
“He is not yet your shadow MP but is aspiring so the fruits can better be judged from the onset. What he has done by bringing this sponsorship is that the youth will have something to do unlike engaging in immoral behavior. In addition, he is your true son of Zomba having grown up in this city and we hope you will give him the necessary support,” he said.
Chikwemba said his sponsorship is aimed at reviving the good old days of football in Zomba.
“I want to have those memorable days in football back. Since Chioza died some years ago, there has never been sports sponsorship in Zomba Central Constituency which is very disappointing. I want to see players from Zomba scaling to greater heights just as German-based Dan Chitsulo, Chancy Gondwe and others had done.
“For us to achieve this, we need to support each other. Let us come with one strong team in our constituency which can be in a position to compete with elite teams in the country,” said Chikwemba.
In his remarks, Zomba District Football Committee chairperson Rajab Namaraka was hailed Chikwemba for the initiative.
“Players were deserting the city to play for teams of other constituencies just because we did not have our own here. It was only the Presidential Cup we had and thereafter nothing to compete for. But with this development I am hopeful that we are going to expose a lot of talent which can be poached by bigger clubs as it was in the past,” he said.
There are about 38 teams registered in the competition and games will be played for a period of two months.
