Football Association of Malawi has conducted the 2023 HTD Beach Soccer National Championship draw in which six teams will battle it out for the ultimate prize.
FAM, alongside Beach Soccer Committee and sponsors HTD, held the event at HTD offices at Ginnery Corner on Wednesday morning.
Speaking on behalf of Beach Soccer Committee, Chairperson Gift Chimbalanga hailed HTD for sponsoring the competition, which will see the company pumping in MK20 million per year for two seasons.
“We are very grateful to HTD for the sponsorship package. Funds are difficult to come by, but the company thought it wise to pump in MK20 million for this national competition.
“We are very excited with this opportunity to have a national competition. Beach Soccer is a big game, and it’s growing. One of the indicators is Malawi’ qualification at the just ended Africa Cup of Nations Beach Soccer Competition staged in Mozambique.
“We are ranked sixth because the game is glowing hence the need to have more partners and more coverage for the game because it has also the potential to attract tourists as we always play these games at beautiful beaches,” he said.
Then he revealed teams, dates, and the venue where the games will be played.
“We have Deep Bay from Karonga, Munali from central region, Chipala from Nkhotakota, Nkopola from Mangochi, Nyasa from the South and Beach Eagles from Chintheche. The games will be played on the weekend of 3rd and 4th June next week at Livingstonia Beach in Salima. We should have had these games in Mangochi, but due to the prolonged rains and the Cyclone Freddy, we have decided to move them in Salima,” he concluded.
On the part of sponsors, Jawadi Medi, Finance and Administration Officer, said his company made the commitment to sponsor the competition as one way of developing the game.
“We made a commitment to sponsor this competition for two years, and we are happy to be the first company to sponsor a national competition. We had a delay because of the Cyclone and prolonged rains, but here we are, it’s finally happening.
“Beach soccer is not just a sport. It’s an opportunity for us to show the outside world what we have, and this will also boost the tourism sector. We are happy to develop Beach soccer in Malawi and also the welfare of the players that play this game. We invite the corporate world to be part of this memorable event in Salima,” he said.
For this competition to reach this stage, FAM has already used MK44 million from MK64 million, and it was played in five centers across the country. The sponsorship package from HTD will then be used at this national level.
Draw details
Group A
Nkopola
Beach Eagles
Munali
Group B
Nyasa
Deep Bay
Chipala
The fixtures will be made by Beach Soccer fixtures Committee.
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