Spurred by the sheer need to improve the quality of netball standards in the country, Enterprising Katoto Supermarket, a subsidiary of Weagle Holdings Limited has taken a giant step by increasing sponsorship for Mzuzu and District Netball League to a staggering K5 million from last year’s K2 million.
The sponsorship increment aims at uplifting the quality of netball in the northern region with an aim to drill netball players for the Malawi netball national team, dubbed the Malawi Queens.
Apart from the hike in sponsorship package, the league has also extended to teams in Nkhata- Bay and Mzimba districts after involving Mzuzu-based teams only in the first edition.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 2024 edition launch Saturday, Katoto Supermarket Managing Director, Matthews Mtumbuka said they value the development of sports in the country and that is why their corporate social responsibility opted for netball.
“We want to give back to the residents of Mzuzu. Most of our customers in our supermarkets are women, and we want to thank them in such a way while we promote the game of netball. We want to raise the game of netball in Mzuzu,” said Mtumbuka.
Technical Director for Netball Association of Malawi (NAM), Sam Kanyenda graced the occasion and said the Northern region has produced good players for the country’s national team and therefore needs a strong league to unearth talent just like Katoto Supermarket has done.
“When we have stronger leagues in regions, it makes it easy for us to identify the cream for the national team. We applaud Katoto Supermarket for widening its league base as we have talented youths in our districts but lack platforms,” said Kanyenda.
Mzuzu District Netball Committee’s Vice Secretary, Josephine Mkandawire assured the sponsor that all is in place to commence the league without hurdles.
“We have put measures in place to ensure we run a smooth league considering that we are now extending to other districts. We are banking on last year’s success and are determined to ensure we achieve the objectives of the league,” said Mkandawire.
The league will involve nine netball teams from Mzuzu, Chikangawa, Raiply, Ekwendeni, and Nkhata-Bay, and will be played on a round-robin format.
The Mzuzu District Netball League Brand Ambassador, the legendary former Malawi national netball team captain and coach Mary Atcheya Waya said: “This is great news for netball in Mzuzu, NkhataBay and surrounding areas as it is an opportunity for many girls to be discovered for big teams and the national team.”
“We want to give back to the residents of Mzuzu.”
Matthews Mtumbuka
Katoto Supermarket Managing Director,
