Kukoma Ntopwa FC have been forced to cut their Cosafa Women’s Champions League budget from K79 million to K45 million ahead of the tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa, from this Friday.
The Blantyre-based team’s participation in the regional showpiece, which is also a qualifier for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s Champions League, appeared uncertain due to financial constraints until yesterday when their sponsor, Capital Oil Refining Industries (Cori), gave them K10 million.
In an interview yesterday, the club’s founder and technical director Isaac Jomo Osman said despite the review of the budget, they still have a K30 million deficit
He said: “We have now raised K15 million, including the K10 million injection from our sponsor and the plan now is to travel by road and we might leave later today [yesterday] or tomorrow [today] so that the team can have enough time to recover ahead of the kick-off.
“We thank our sponsor, Cori ,because without their intervention, we would have been in a tight situation. We are happy that even if it was not budgeted for, as our sponsors, they did not hesitate to come in and assist.”
Osman also said they will not be mere particpants, but competitors.
“Being the flag carriers, we are determined to perform well. We have been there before and we know how tough and competitive the competition is,” he said.
Cori sponsorship coordinator Violet Kapolo said they made the contribution to motivate the team to do well at the tournament.
She said: “This is our obligation to ensure that the team is well motivated. It is our wish to inspire the team to qualify and compete at continental level.
“We are proud to be associated with Kukoma Ntopwa who are the national champions and will be representing the nation at the tournament.”
Kapolo urged the team to maintain discipline.
“They are carrying Malawi’s flag and, as such, we expect them to be exemplary as always and fight for the championship,” she said.
Kukoma Ntopwa will start their Champions League campaign against South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns at UJ AW Muller Stadium on Friday.
Their next fixture will be against Beauties FC from Namibia two days later before wrapping up their Group A fixtures against Zesco Ndola Girls of Zambia on August 26.
The group winners will advance to the semi-finals alongside the best second-placed team.
Ntopwa will represent the country for the second time in the Cosafa Qualifier having made their debut in 2023 in Durban.
