FAM turns down Airtel offer
FAM on Wednesday cleared the air surrounding their decision to turn down a K1.8 million (about $4 500) sponsorship offer from Airtel for a pre-season tournament involving Super League teams, saying it would have been in conflict with Sulom’s league sponsorship contract with TNM.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu was reacting to claims by Airtel managing director Saulos Chilima at an Airtel Rising Star function held in Lilongwe on Wednesday that the association turned its back on an offer to bankroll a Charity Cup.
“They [Airtel] indeed made an offer to sponsor a Charity Shield involving Super League clubs, but when we consulted our Sulom counterparts, it was established that it would be in conflict with the TNM Super League sponsorship agreement which stipulates that Super League clubs are not supposed to participate in a competition that is sponsored by a competitor.
“We found ourselves in a tight situation. We ended up advising them to consider sponsoring either the national team or indeed a youth competition and we are still waiting to hear from them,” said Nyamilandu.
He said the Airtel offer was made just before the start of the current season.
“But our position is that the door is open and we would want to secure them if they can come in a different form. We are interested to work with Airtel to play a meaningful part in the development of football,” said Nyamilandu.
Sulom president Innocent Bottomani confirmed being approached by FAM on the matter.
“There could have been an element of breach of contract with TNM had FAM gone ahead to accept the offer and the consequences would have been far reaching,” said Bottomani.
Chilima said, despite the hitch, they have not given up on the prospect of sponsoring football at top level.
“Maybe if we discuss with Sports Council and FAM, we should be able to find a solution and chart the way forward. But firstly, we need to find out where the problem is,” Chilima told the media.
TNM sponsors the flagship league to the tune of K65 million (about $163 000) per season.
