Uncertainty over Carlsberg deal
A cloud of uncertainty hovers over the future of Football Association of Malawi (FAM)sponsorship deal with Carlsberg Malawi Limited, sponsors of the Flames.
Well-placed sources have confided in The Nation that the giant brewer will not renew the contract when the current one expires in May this year.
But Carlsberg senior brands manager Twikale Chirwa could neither confirm nor deny the reports, saying: ‘‘A determination will be made upon the expiry of the current [K250 million] deal.”
However, following their unimpressive performance in the 2017 Afcon campaign, Carlsberg set a target for the Flames to finish among the top three, saying it was very clear that the national team was going through a bad patch.
The source said Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has been informed that the contract agreement will not be renewed.
“The president of FAM [Walter Nyamilandu] and his management team are aware of the development. Carlsberg has only committed to renew sponsorship of the Carlsberg Cup,” he said.
But while confirming that Carlsberg has so far only committed to sponsor the cup competition, the FAM president said they were in the dark as regards the future of the Flames sponsorship.
“They have made a commitment to renew the cup sponsorship, but there is nothing as regards the Flames sponsorship that’s all I can say for now.
“Suffice to say the funding was already exhausted. This leaves our coffers dry as we look forward to the 2018 Chan [Championship of African Nations] and 2019 Afcon [Africa Cup of Nations] qualifiers.
“It means we are in red and we have to find alternative sources of revenue to fund Flames’ programmes ending June 30,” said Nyamilandu in an indirect hint that the marriage is coming to an end.
FAM is now planning to request for additional funding from government having also exhausted its K32 million allocation which went towards hosting the dead rubber 2017 Afcon qualifier against Swaziland as well as the Under-20 and Under-17 Cosafa tournaments.
The K250 million deal entailed K50 million sponsorship for the first year (2014) and K100 million each for the subsequent years (2015 and 2016).
Part of the sponsorship catered for game bonuses, allowances and travel expenses.
Carlsberg are also the exclusive sponsor for the team’s merchandise, regalia and training kit.
The Carlsberg sponsorship, was seen as a major breakthrough and a milestone for Malawi football as it led to players’ game bonus for a win being hiked from K30 000 (which remains government’s contribution) to K100 000 each. n
