Wizards land Premier Bet sponsorship deal

TNM Super League side Wizards FC has landed an open sponsorship deal with sports betting company Premier Bet.

The deal was sealed yesterday during a press briefing held in Blantyre where the two parties signed a contract up to the end of the season with an option for extension next season.

The two parties could not be drawn to disclose the package, but The Nation established that Wizards received K10 million as the initial tranche.

The betting company’s operations director Joao Morales said they settled for Wizards after being impressed by the club’s owner Peter Mponda’s sponsorship proposal and passion for the game.

“He [Mponda] is a man who knows what he is doing and we felt we could use the club as a vehicle to market our brand, but over and above that, it is about giving back to the community in which we operate.

“The sponsorship is also linked to what we do [sports betting] and that makes it a perfect partnership,” he said.

Morales also said they have not set any targets for Wizards, saying: “Even after the initial deal, we will definitely extend the partnership and that is why it is an open deal.”

Wizards chairperson Ophman Kondowe and Super League of Malawi (Sulom) treasurer Tiya Somba-Banda expressed gratitude to Premier Bet for bailing out Wizards who are currently 13th in the 16-member top-flight league with 12 points from 14 matches.

Said Kondowe: “We are not taking this as sponsorship per se, but partnership because football is now big business world-wide and, therefore, this deal has to be a win-win situation.

“We are very thankful to Premier Bet because this partnership will go a long way in motivating the players.”

On his part,  Somba-Banda said: “We are happy that you [Premier Bet] have decided to partner football through this sponsorship and we are hopeful that it will help improve not only the performance of the team, but also promote the game in general.”