FDH Bank and Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) have signed a three-year K360 Million sponsorship deal for the Malawi National Netball team.
The historic deal will see the Queens getting K100 million per year for the next three years while K45 million will fund a netball cup, with the remaining K15 million allocated to NAM administration.
FDH Bank’s Acting Managing Director William Mpinganjira said his company has decided to sponsor the Queens after observing that netball was lacking necessary financial support, structures and resources.
“We observed that netball, despite being the pride of the nation, has been lacking necessary support, structures and resources. The Queens were, among other milestones, the bronze medalist at the Fast 5 International Series in 2016 in Australia and managed to beat the world’s number two team, New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth games in Australia despite limited resources.
“The Queens through NAM have continuously exhibited massive potential and it is in this vein that today, we are happy to unveil a 3 year sponsorship of K360 million to the association. K300 million will go directly towards sponsoring the Queens, K45 million will fund a netball cup while K15 million will be used to run NAM Administration,” he said.
On the decision to fund a netball cup, Mpinganjira said: “We are very keen on the Netball cup for two reasons; for the Queens squad to remain competitive will need talent that will be developed and identified during the competition and secondly, we sponsor Mayor’s trophies which include netball and we are hoping the cup will be a transformation platform and an inspiration for the young talent,” he concluded.
On her part, NAM President Khungekile Matiya hailed FDH for the package, saying it’s a landmark achievement for the Queens.
“Our Queens lacked this type of sponsorship so today, this marks a landmark achievement for the Queens and we are very grateful to FDH Bank for this gesture. Our team was failing to play in friendly matches and this package will ensure that the Queens will get more matches so that we improve on our rankings and on performance. We will sit down to see how best we can use the amount to develop talent from the grassroots and many more projects that will help to develop the game.”
“We are still looking for more partners to assist us so that we can improve the standards of netball in Malawi considering the fact that netball has always put Malawi on the map and will continue putting the country on the map,” she explained.
Chief Director in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture Martin Kadzuwa echoed Matiya’s sentiments, saying the sponsorship package will go a long way towards improving the sport in the country.
“We are very excited because all along, we have advocated for partnership with private sector and to see FDH Bank come with K360 million sponsorship package has brought us joy and we are very grateful to them. Netball, just like any other sports discipline, has been lacking resources and this is a major boost to the resources and we except that these resources will improve the standards of netball in the country. As government, we will make sure to create a conducive environment for the corporate world to benefit from what they invest so that they continue partnering us for the betterment of our sports,” said Kadzuwa.
