Kukoma Eagles ladies’ basketball team has been challenged to produce good results in competitions if they are to enjoy continued sponsorship from Kukoma Cooking Oil manufacturers—Capital Oil Refining Industries (Cori) Limited.
Cori head of human resources and administration Bina Mthimbwa said this at Blantyre Youth Centre (BYC) on Saturday during the launch of the team with an eight-team Ladies’ Basketball Bonanza that saw the Blantyre-based side stuttering in the group stages with a 15-23 loss to eventual champions Angels of Lilongwe.
Cori, through its Kukoma brand, has injected K1.3 million into the Southern Zone Basketball League (Sozobal) side as a year-long sponsorship package. The financial support comes at a time the company is celebrating 30 years in the cooking oil business. Cori also bankrolls netball giants Kukoma Diamonds,
He said: “We are popular with our Kukoma brand, which is associated with success. Therefore, we expect a team that carries our brand name to be successful as well.”
Eagles team manager Ronald Mbekeani, whose side is powered by the College of Medicine (CoM) Sports Complex through the allotment of facilities for training and matches, said they will do their best to protect and maintain the legacy of the Kukoma brand.
“It took a lot of proposals and knocking on doors to earn this sponsorship and we cannot afford to lose it due to poor performance and indiscipline,” he said.
Sozobal chairperson Stabene Malange-Majamanda and Basketball Association of Malawi (Basmal) vice-general secretary Banthari Banda thanked Cori for bankrolling the team.
The ladies teams that took part in the event that saw Kwese Television (TV) awarding the most valuable player (MVP) with a decoder and one month subscription, were Sozobal outfits Eagles, Divas, Poly Ladies and Cobbe Barracks Ladies alongside their Central Zone Basketball League (Cezobal) counterparts Angels, Brave Hearts, Lady Dynamites and Bunda Olivettes.
