Ray of hope

TNM plc, sponsors of the Super League, have said talks with Sulom on sponsorship extension are at an advanced stage and they will announce their position next month.

The telecommunications service providers signed a one-year deal with the top-flight league runners, Super League of Malawi (Sulom).

In an interview yesterday, the company’s head of brand and marketing Madalitso Jonazi said discussions are at an advanced stage.

He said: “Sponsorship talks with Sulom and all stakeholders have progressed very well.

“We are now at a very advanced stage.

“We should announce the position of the sponsorship accordingly at the prize presentation ceremony which is planned for next month.”

A well-placed source confided in Weekend Nation that an agreement to extend the deal has, in essence, been reached “and what remains is the official announcement”.

On his part, Sulom president Tiya Somba-Banda declined to comment.

The one-year sponsorship for this season was a departure from the usual three-year past agreements.

But Somba-Banda played down the short-term deal in an earlier interview, saying it was about making it more fluid “to easily adjust and adapt to the market forces or change”.

TNM plc increased the league’s sponsorship package for the 2022 season from K90 million to K100 million and announced that the champions would cart home K40 million, up from K15 million.

The runners-up and third-placed team’s prizes were doubled to K15 million and K7.5 million, respectively while that of fourth-placed position was scrapped.

Player of the Season’s prize was also hiked to K2 million from K200 000 while the golden boot winner Babatunde Adepoju will get K1 million.

Nyasa Big Bullets won the title for the fourth time in a row and 16th overall.

Civil Service United general secretary Ronald Chiwaula and Bullets chief administration officer Albert Chigoga said the expectation is that the sponsorship package will be hiked considering that the cost of living has gone up.

He Said: “It would be wise and proper to increase so that teams benefit and the return of the fourth-placed team prize would be appreciated.”

On his part, Chigoga said: “Our expectation obviously is an improvement in terms of sponsorship package vis-a-vis prize money, participation fees as well as seeing to it that clubs continue to exploit shirt sponsorship as a revenue venture.”