Standard Bank shifts to development football

Standard Bank has announced that next year’s knockout trophy might be the last for top-flight football teams as they intend to shift focus to development football sponsorship in 2015.

The bank’s marketing manager Chimwemwe Matonga said this last weekend at their regional office in Blantyre during the presentation of awards to sports journalists who were outstanding in the previous competition which was won by Mighty Wanderers for a second year running.

“We realised that there is over concentration of sponsorship at the top level. We need to dilute that sponsorship to development football. We need to go back to the good old days when we could have youth teams of elite league outfits having own competitive events,” said Matonga.

“Next year, we will be back with the knockout cup, but beyond 2014, we will get into development football. We need the Flames to be comprised of players that go through the necessary developmental stages so as to achieve great success,” he said.

While describing the Standard Bank initiative as something that will complement their efforts of revitalising youth football through the introduction of the Under-14 national league, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) general secretary Suzgo Nyirenda said it would be a bonus if the bank sponsors both elite and youth football leagues.

“You would agree with me that there is more prestige at the elite stage where the bank and other sponsors get the mirage in terms of promoting their products. On the other hand, sponsorship of youth football is necessary to groom future stars.

“Therefore, it would be a bonus if they do not abandon elite football but combine both. We will discuss this at length with the bank and we hope they will be with us forever,” said Nyirenda.

Standard Bank started sponsoring the knockout cup in 2007, previously it was known as the FAM Cup.