Minister hails Cricket Malawi
Minister of Youth and Sports Ulemu Msungama has urged sports associations to take a leaf from Cricket Malawi’s initiative to operate as a commercial entity.
The minister said this when the cricket body hosted a Golf Day and Mixer on Saturday at Country Club Limbe in Blantyre to interact with corporates with the hope of securing partnerships.
He said: “It is pleasing to hear that they have rebranded and are operating like a business entity. I would, therefore, like to urge other sports associations to learn from Cricket Malawi’s creativity.
“That is the way to go because we cannot be operating in the same way. It cannot be business as usual.”
Msungama also said he is determined to support all sports codes in the country.
“That is why when I was appointed minister, I made it clear that I am not a minister of football or netball. I am the minister of sports.”
He also thanked all the corporates that supported the event.
Cricket Malawi operations manager Arjun Menon said their target is to be a benchmark for other associations by being one of the best run sports bodies.
He said: “We have currently embarked on taking cricket to the masses and so far 6 000 children have been introduced to the sport in the last six years.
“We also just don’t look at improving their cricketing skills, we also look after their education and presently, we have three cricketers that are doing diploma courses at College of Medicine and we also pay fees for some girls who are at secondary school. So, we are also trying to prepare them for life other than just cricket.”
Menon also said he has introduced three community clubs in Chilomoni and Ndirande townships as well as Limbe in Blantyre which will be launched next year.
“We are, therefore, looking for a partner for the regional leagues at premier and zonal levels.”
He said, among others, they will be offering naming rights for the league, social media access for promotional activities, corporate branding and advertising space at match venues.
Cricket Malawi president Vivek Ganesan said the sport has flourished mainly because of volunteers and in the last decade, Malawi has risen on world rankings. The men’s side is 53rd with the women’s team on 47th.
He said next year Malawi will be taking part in three major tournaments—the men’s and women’s World Cup qualifiers and the Under-19 Africa World Cup qualifiers.
