Simbanet bails out Ltam

Simbanet, a data network operator, has bailed out Lawn Tennis Association of Malawi (Ltam) with a K7 million sponsorship for this year’s Malawi International  Tennis  Open.

The association was struggling  to raise funds for the annual tournament, after Puma—their long time financier—pulled out.

Speaking during a cheque  presentation  in Lilongwe yesterday, Simbanet general manager  Brian Longwe said they were concerned  with the association’s  situation.

“We accepted  their sponsorship  request  because  we felt that the tournament  is important  as it attracts international attention and failure to stage it was going to be bad for the sport,” he said.

Longwe, however, could not assure  Ltam  of their continued  sponsorship saying: “We shall see what happens next after this year’s tournament  has been played.”

Ltam president  Wilson Kyumba  described  the sponsorship  as timely.

“Without  Simbanet , I doubt if we were going to hold the event. This is a great relief on our part,” he said.

The Malawi International  Open will be held in Blantyre  from November 9th to 12th.

Previously, the tournament, which comprises men’s and women’s singles and doubles, had  attracted  contestants from Kenya,  Zambia  and  Italy, among other nationalities.

According to Ltam, men’s singles champion will pocket K735 000 while the women’s champion will get K700 000. n