NBS Bank has pumped in K982 million for the inaugural National Division Football League for the next three years which will kick-off in the 2025 season.
This was disclosed by the bank on Wednesday at Sunbird Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kwanele Ngwenya said the first package will start at K270 million before a 20 per cent increase due to inflation.
He further revealed the bank, as part of the sponsorship commitment, includes exclusive naming rights to the division, prominent brand placement in all league-related materials, digital marketing opportunities and the organisation of community events.
“This sponsorship aligns with our strategic goals of enhancing brand visibility, engaging with current and potential customers and reinforcing our commitment to community development.
“This agreement perfectly aligns with NBS Bank’s strategic goals of customer engagement and community support. By supporting this league, we aim to foster talent identification and development, benefiting not only the players but also the entire community,” he said.
On his part, the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Fleetwood Haiya said he was very excited about the sponsorship agreement with ‘The Caring Bank’.
“We cannot wait to ignite the fire that was lacking to catapult the game of football to greater heights with a modern set up of football pyramid structured with this competition.
“That said, allow me ladies and gentlemen to salute NBS Bank in a very special way with a standing ovation. This is a dream come true because the football family has been yearning for such lucrative sponsorship for non-super league competitions for a long time,” he said.
The FAM boss also added that under the new drivers of transforming the game, their mission is to effectively develop, govern, organise, and promote football in line with the best practices.
“These best practices will enable us to achieve our vision to attain football dominance in Africa. And if we talk about best practices, it means setting standards for the quality of football and putting quality controls in our competitions, especially the lower tier competitions, which are the base of our player development pathway.
“We noted that one of the problems that would hinder our dream of attaining dominance in Africa is the weak link of our football pyramid, whereby we have weak structures below the Super League teams, national team and the dwindling number of Malawi’s players exports,” he concluded.
The new league means Malawi football will have five tiers instead of the current four, with this new league coming second to the Super League.
According to FAM’s Competitions and Communications Director Gomezgani Zakazaka, the new league will have 12 teams, they are, three relegated from the Super League and nine from the four regional premier leagues who will finish from position two to four.
But the competition will have 12 teams plus two automatically relegated teams from the Super League, two teams relegated from the National Division League playoffs, four regional Premier league winners and teams that will finish from five to eight in the 2025 season while teams from position 9 to 12 will automatically be relegated to the regional leagues.
This will see only two teams relegated from the Super League while the number 14 team will face teams number 3 and 4 for playoffs for a place in the Super League while two top teams in the NDL will earn an automatic promotion to the elite league.
