MOC receives boost

Malawi Olympic of Committee (MOC) preparations for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil have received a huge boost following a marketing pact with internationally renowned entertainment company, Lake of Stars (LoS).

Both MOC president Oscar Kanjala and LoS management confirmed the deal, which is expected to revolutionise the marketing sector among sports disciplines affiliated to MOC.

“We want to diversify into sports. We are glad to partner MOC and we are confident that we can market MOC and raise the profile of sports disciplines and personalities in Malawi on the international level,” said LoS director Will James.

Among other things, Lake of Stars will create documentaries, videos of best sports personalities in each sport code and post them on You Tube and other international forums as part of the marketing strategy.

“Malawi is known all over the world in relation to the Cashgate, but we will remove that perception by bringing in the sports angle through videos of a sports documentary titled Road to Rio. We will work with established cable networks such as CNN, BBC, ESPN and many other international media sorganisations,” said James.

He said apart from that, LoS will sponsor athletes with potential to feature in key events as part of fundraising activities.

“We will also be running athletes training programmes, organise seminars for MOC officials and athletes in digital communication so that they will be able to keep updated with sports  trends all over the world,” said James.

Kanjala said the partnership with LoS is one of the many steps MOC is taking to ensure financial sustainability.

“This is done to complement our ever-growing challenges of sponsorship. This in return will translate into our athletes have getting good perks that will motivate them to achieve more for their country,” said Kanjala during the week briefing Nation on Sunday.