The Malawi Government on Saturday commended Carlsberg Malawi for being a true partners in football through the Copa Coca-Cola sponsorship which spans four decades.
Deputy Education Minister Agnes Chatipwa and Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Sports Justin Saidi said this during the launch of the 2014 Copa Coca-Cola Schools Football Tournament at Mponela Trading Centre in Dowa.
“I am reliably informed that Carlsberg Malawi has been sponsoring this tournament for 46 years. The sponsorship is as almost as old as the independent Malawi nation. This means Carlsberg, through its Coca-Cola brand, is a true partner in sports. It is sponsoring this tournament with huge sums of money. We are extremely grateful,” said Chatipwa.
She said the beauty with sports is that it has the potential to help expand access to school to a lot of children as it keeps them health.
“To our youths sports brings inspiration, determination and success. It also inculcates in them a spirit of positive and healthy competition,” said Chatipwa.
Saidi was equally impressed with the level of commitment shown by Carlsberg Malawi in promoting sports at grass-roots level.
“It’s not easy to sponsor a tournament for 46 uninterrupted years. We have seen companies sponsoring a tournament for a year then pulling out but not with Carlsberg. They have contributed tremendously to the success of not only the Super League, but the national team as well. The likes of Kinnah Phiri, Gabadinho Mhango are all products of Coca-Cola,” said Saidi.
On their part, Carlsberg Malawi said they are there to realise the dreams of young people.
“We have been doing it for 46 years and yet the excitement and the buzz is still the same. This is because the dream of young people remains the same.
“Every year, young hopefuls register for Copa Coca-Cola in pursuit of their dream of one day making it big,” said brands manager non-alcoholic Titha Mbilizi, attracting applause from the audience.
