K4.5m Kukoma sponsorship fires up Diamonds

Kukoma Diamonds have described the K4.5 million one-year Capital Oil Refining Industry Limited (Cori) sponsorship motivation for the title defence of the Rainbow Paints Southern Region Netball League (SRNL).

The team’s coach Griffin Saenda and captain Carol Mtukule-Ngwira said this on Wednesday when the company announced the package at the launching ceremony in Blantyre.

Although they are already three points behind leaders Complex Tigresses, with at least seven games to go, Diamonds believe the purse, which has probably turned them into the richest club in the SRNL, will make them indomitable.

“With this support, I do not know why we should not afford to defend the league title this season,” said Saenda. “We will prove that the company has not made a mistake.”

According to Mtukule-Ngwira, the morale has now returned to players after enduring a nagging five-year sponsorship drought following the pulling out of their former financiers, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) in 2010.

“The sponsorship drought killed our fighting spirit; sometimes this made us lose our interest to attend training sessions and, as a result, we could not effectively fight for glory, especially against our fiercest rivals, Tigresses. But now we are back in business,” she said.

Cori sales and marketing manager Felix Cheza said the year-long financial backing, which will see K3 million going into club operations and K1.5 million to logistics and promotional materials, will be renewed if Diamonds do well in the competition.

Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) general secretary Carol Bapu and SRNL chairperson Khungekile Matiya urged other companies to emulate Cori’s good gesture.