The stakes are now high as the the country’s elite football league has been fine-tuned with a sumptuous financial windfall.
This is an unrivalled game-changing step in a right direction and an audacious quest to help raise the standards of the game in the South-east nation dubbed the Warm Heart of Africa.
The stage is set. And, adeptly so.
Mobile network provider TNM Plc has increased its sponsorship of Malawi’s top-flight football, Super League’s annual package trippling it to a staggering half a billion per year for the next three years.
Announcing Malawi’s biggest football bumper deal in Malawi’s commercial city, Blantyre, TNM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michel Herbert said his organisation, as a way to give back to the people, has tripled the sponsorship with a 300% increase from the previous K150 million annual funding to K500 million.
“At TNM, we believe in football. Every Malawian has a huge passion for football, and as a Malawian company, TNM has a (corporate) duty to contribute to football for everyone’s enjoyment.
“This is who we are and this is what we do and this is what compelled me to actually increase the sponsorship this year,” said Herbert.
This means, therefore, the winner of the Super League will now receive a whooping K100 million , with the runner-up getting 40 million third place 30 million.
With the sponsorship increment, team subsidies have risen from K4 million to K10 million per club every season.
Further, the prize money has also increased for individual awards like player of the season, top scorer, best midfielder, defender, goalkeeper and coach. Referees will also receive sponsor money.
Herbert said: “The whole idea is to make this league more competitive and we are doing more this year, we are also taking part of this money to develop football at the community level that feeds into the leagues.”
Unprecedented development
Football Association of Malawi president Fleetwood Haiya praised TNM for the sponsorship increase, describing it an unprecedented development.
“It has never happened before in our football, the winners of the league going out with K100 million, there is no other competition matching with the TNM as we speak,” Haiya said.
He added: “We believe that this will help to develop football in Malawi.”
A visibly excited Super League of Malawi (Sulom) president Colonel Gilbert Mitawa said:
“The Super League of Malawi clubs are “sincerely grateful” for the sponsorship.”
“We believe that the extra funds would help revive, reform and rebrand the league to make it more competitive and attractive,” added Colonel Mitawa.
The elite football Super League of Malawi, which is officially known as the TNM Super League, is the top-tier football division in Malawi that has been running since 2006.
Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Malawi Regional Football Leagues.
Historical background
Malawi’s Super League was created in 1986 and was first sponsored by Gillet Nacet and at that time it was composed of just eight teams.
Five teams came from Blantyre and Districts Football League (BDFL) and three teams from Lilongwe and Districts Football League (LDFL).
The eight inaugural members of the Super League of Malawi were Bata Bullets, Limbe Leaf Wanderers, MDC United, Red Lions, ADMARC Tigers, Silver Strikers, Civo United and MITCO.
Former Bullets and Malawi national team lethal forward and goalscoring machine, Chiukepo Msowoya is the league’s all time top goal scorer with a record 129 goals.
TNM Sponsorship
The TNM Super League is TNM’s major sponsorship property and it is Malawi’s elite football league competed for by 16 teams from across Malawi.
TNM started elite football sponsorship in 2007 and its current sponsorship agreement runs up to 2025.
A total of 240 games are played during a season over a period of 8 months.
The TNM league sponsorship is current at K150 million with the champion winning K40 million.
The runner-up and third placed team get K15 million and K7.5 million respectively.
The Super League of Malawi, who are the league managers and are responsible day to day management of the league.
The league runs from April to December and relegates three bottom teams who are replaced by those that emerge champions in the country’s three regional leagues.
“At TNM, we believe in football.”
Michel Herbert
TNM Malawi Chief Executive Officer
