Lilongwe Dairy doubles Tigresses’ sponsorship to K20m
Lilongwe Dairy (2001) Limited has doubled sponsorship for Rainbow Paints Blantyre and Districts Netball League defending champions First Choice Tigresses to K20 million.
However, the food and beverages company’s sales and marketing manager Gabriel Phiri yesterday said they have opted for a season-long sponsorship rather than the previous three-year deal due to the country’s current economic situation.
The company initially signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the Tigresses worth K10 million per season under its First Choice brand in 2019.
He said: “We have decided to come up with a season-long contract because we do not want to promise too much, taking into account the country’s current economic environment.
“If we see improvements by the end of this financial year, we might come again with another package. We are just being cautious.”
Tigresses team manager Hellen Mpinganjira-Tasosa yesterday said they were excited that their sponsors have come back with a bigger package for the season.
“Due to economic hardships some companies are going through, it is not easy for a sports team to acquire such a big sponsorship. We are very grateful to Lilongwe Dairy for the support. This will motivate us to work harder in our title-defence mission,” she said.
Tigresses, who have contributed three players to the Malawi Queens squad at the ongoing 2022 Commonwealth Games in England, did not have sponsorship for three years before Lilongwe Dairy came to their rescue.
The team was formerly sponsored by the Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation before former president Bingu wa Mutharika took over. It was also sponsored by College of Medicine (now Kamuzu University of Health Sciences) Sports Complex at some point.