The news of Dedza Dynamos Football Club securing a 100 Million Malawi Kwacha sponsorship deal with Premier Bet comes just a few weeks after the betting company was barred from co-sponsoring Super League with Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM). But what does this mean for the club, and the status of football in Malawi? … dissects the deal and its impact…
Seeing the betting company proposal to pump in MK 260 Million rejected, made a section of local football fans call that a loss to Malawi Football while some quarters respected TNM stance in the matter.
While many feared that what happened might have killed off the interest from Premier Bet on Malawi football, what is arguably the leading betting company in the country has gone on to put big money on Dedza Dynamons, a TNM Super League thoroughbred. The news has put a full-teeth smile on lovers of the local game.
As many clap hands for this development, it is necessary to take a brief look at what it means to the Dynamos, who now will answer to the name Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos FC.
In recent seasons, the Dynamos have asserted themselves as a competitive mid-table outfit whose ambitions have been well illustrated with their exploits in elite cup competition. It’s just a season ago they found themselves in the semi-finals of the FDH Bank Cup.
Last season, the central-region-based side were position-7 finishers in the STNM Super League of Malawi. This is a return from a side somehow stretched financially.
Now with the big money on the line, the Dynamos seem likely to grow a big heart to force their way into the top 4 positions. Having, in recent seasons, built a defying home record against the likes of Bullets and Silver Strikers, the Dynamos may inevitably become a force to be reckoned with henceforth in the league.
Around the world we have seen what money can do to ambitious teams. Without money, Mamelodi Sundowns were unlikely to get into the special brackets of South African football, that is the same with Manchester City with the echelons of English football and most recently Girona with the Spanish game
Dedza’s deal with Premier Bet will see awards go to the player of the month, player of the year and fan player of the yea. Such arrangements are most likely to inspire spirited performances from the Dynamos who produced the 2023 TNM upper League golden boot winner in Clement Nyondo.
Speaking during the contract signing ceremony, Premier Bet chief executive officer, Trevor Whitaker, said they chose Dedza Dynamos following the team’s impressive performance in the previous seasons in the country’s elite league.
One thing expected to come a long with the big Premier Bet money is the charm to keep a bright squad. In the few years that they have been in the top-flight football, the Dynamos have proved to be a moulder of some wonderful talents which eventually leave the club whenever big clubs come knocking.
Last season, the Dynamos lost Nyondo to Mighty Mukuru Wanderers and Charles Chipala to Silver Strikers on big-money deals. Now that the cash is there, the Dynamos can now attract more precious prospects and most importantly they can get hold of the gold that comes through their ranks.
In better ways, better days are coming in Dynamos’ way. They have been in promising deals with Salima Sugar Company and other stakeholders before but the fresh one with Premier Bet looks to be ideal in taking the competitive Dynamos to the next level.
Well, the Dynamos is not the only SULOM outfit we have seen securing a sponsorship deal in recent times. Creck, Mzuzu, and a number of teams in top-flight football are sealing sponsorship deals. What is looking like a trend has the likeliness to have a significant impact on the local game.
In the arena of Malawian football, only the obvious big teams have dominated the stage with FCB Nyasa Big Bullets managing to win the league four times consecutively before registering a quadruple in the last campaign.
The narrative seems to be braced for a change where the battle for trophies will take a tough road. Premier Bet becoming official sponsors of the Dynamos serve but to depict the progress Super League of Malawi is taking.
Should we continue seeing the corporate sector pouring in to take over financially-stretched teams and making them a power house, maybe soon a Malawian football will go on to fight for African top trophies.
In what will be their first game since securing the sponsorship deal, Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos are shaping up for their TNM Super League of Malawi encounter against Mafco FC at home this coming Sunday afternoon.
