Donna’s Eggs Women Football Tournament has been turned into a national competition and it is expected to start this weekend.
The sponsorship has since been increased to K8 milliom from the initial K1 million .
For the past three years, the tournament was a Southern Region event, but during the launch of the 2014 edition at FAM offices in Chiwembe, Blantyre yesterday, Donna’s Eggs spokesperson Herbert Mangadzuwa said they want to promote participation of women in the sport countrywide.
“We have decided to extend the competition to the other regions to show our appreciation for the support we get from the country’s women and to help them realise their potential in sports,” said Mangadzuwa who was accompanied by the company’s marketing manager Sadiki Malinga at the ceremony.
Despite being turned national, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) competitions officer Gomezgani Zakazaka said the competition will not have the national finals as it will end at regional level within the next three months.
Zakazaka said the tournament will be a knockout trophy unlike before when it was played on league basis. He added that the contest is open to any women football team that will pay K5 000 registration fee. He, however, said all teams in the Peter Mutharika regional leagues have been seeded into the second round of the event.
According to National Women Football Committee (NWFC) chairperson Severia Chalira, each regional champion will get K500 000 prize while runner-ups and third-placed team will receive K250 000 and K150 000 respectively.
In front of the delegates, including guest of honour, FAM chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda and FAM executive member Flora Mwandira, Donna’s Eggs pledged to provide uniforms to the teams that will make it into the finals in each of the country’s three regions.
Blantyre Zero are the defending champions of competition in the Southern Region and they have been the perennial winners since the competition started in 2010.
