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Football administrators in the Northern Region have bashed the country’s industry for not sponsoring football teams in the region, saying the development is behind the massive exodus of the region’s soccer stars to teams in the Central and Southern regions.
The accusation comes a few weeks after a number of Mzadd Rangers stars ditched the team, which is threatened with relegation from the Super League, to join other outfits like Blue Eagles.
“The country’s companies are responsible for the development because they do not want to sponsor football teams in the region. Yes, the region produces good players but with lack of sound sponsorship in their clubs they cannot be maintained,” said Julius Mithi, former Northern Region Football Association chairman.
He said a number of companies have ever been approached to sponsor teams in the region but to avail.
“If you approach a company in the region they will tell you to go to their head office in Blantyre or Lilongwe. But if you go to head office they will tell you they are already promoting football in the Northern or Central region, not the North,” he said.
Northern Region Football League (NRFL) secretary general Harvey Sangano concurred with Mithi, saying: “ If you go to their head offices they will tell you there is no business in the region”.
Some of the teams that were once well established in the region include Mzuzu Escom, which produced stars like Happy Saka of Super Escom and Green Buffaloes, which produced Silver Strikers captain Itai Nundwe and striker Zwange Gondwe as well as Blue Eagles Newton Gondwe among others.
Meanwhile, football authorities in the region are contemplating to turn the Khumbo Kachali League into a regional cup.
Mithi, who helped broker the sponsorship, said authorities at regional level have already discussed the arrangement and are waiting for a meeting with the sponsor.
“The sponsor has been so busy of late, but we are hopeful he will not turn down our proposal. He has made no indication that he would abort the sponsorship. Instead he indicated that he is willing to increase the sponsorship from K300,000 to K600,000,” he said.
The region’s league changed to Simama premier league after a Karonga-based businessman Abraham Simama came forward with a K500,000 sponsorship deal.
The league kicks off on January 29.
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