Football Association of Malawi (FAM) says it is optimistic that National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc will extend the Women’s Premiership sponsorship following a successful 2025 inaugural edition.
The initial K280 million one-year sponsorship deal ended on Sunday when Silver Strikers Ladies were crowned inaugural champions. at Silver Stadium in Lilongwe.
In an interview yesterday, FAM president Fleetwood Haiya said they are hopeful that NBM will continue its romance with womn’s football considering the success of the maiden edition.
He said: “Let me thank NBM for believing in our vision for women’s football. They committed [sponsorship] for only one year, but to commit financial support at inception and towards something that is not running, is not easy.
“We believe that NBM are impressed with how the league was run and we will be happy if they extend the contract.”
On his part, NBM chief financial officer Daniel Jere, who watched the final match, said they were impressed with how the league was run, but was non-committal on sponsorship extension.
He said: “We are very excited with the developments that have happened.
“We decided to provide the first-ever structured league for women’s football and it was an achievement considering that we didn’t have it before.”
Jere said, among others, the league contributed towards the Scorchers’ first-ever Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualification.
“The league contributed several players to the national team. So, we are excited about the tournament, but we will soon be conducting a thorough review and we will communicate.”
National Women’s Football Association chairperson Adellaide Migogo hailed NBM for setting the pace in sponsoring the women’s top-flight league.
“I thank National Bank for investing in the girl child and we are pleading with them to extend the sponsorship,” she said.
Migogo also said her hope is that other banks will emulate NBM in supporting women’s football.
In June last year, NBM committed an unprecedented K1.5 billion towards women’s football, nurturing talent through college sporting activities and fostering national pride by transforming grassroots football.
The National Women’s League and the Scorchers were allocated K430 million, Mo626 college basketball, football, and netball received K450 million while the Division One League got K500 million. K138 million was channeled towards branding and activation.
