Airtel Malawi MD Kamoto poses with the Flames at the gala dinner
* We are proud to be part sponsors for the Flames participation at AFCON 2021–MD Kamoto
* The milestones that the Flames have achieved are a testament to the faith and belief we had in the team
By Duncan Mlanjira
Airtel Malawi Plc, the second main sponsor of the Flames African Cup of Nations (AFCON) fundraising campaign ahead of the finals, presented high end smartphones to each of the players as a gift for their exploits at the tournament — where they qualified for their first-ever knockout stages in their third appearance.
The Tecno Camon 18i smartphones were presented by Managing Director Charles Kamoto during the celebratory dinner for the Flames held at Amaryllis Hotel on Friday.
The smartphones from one of Airtel’s smartphone partners, Tecno, came preloaded with 80GB internet bundles and to top it off, were also activated with their Double Data offer, which enables new smartphone users to enjoy an extra free data bundle each time they purchase a new bundle in their brand new smartphone in the first three months of use by dialing *301*22#.
“We are proud to be part sponsors for the Flames participation at AFCON 2021,” Kamoto said. “When we announced our initial support of K25 million back in November, a lot of Malawians were sceptical but we believed in the team and pumped in an extra K10 million at the Ipatse Moto State House fundraiser bringing our contribution to K35 million.
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“The milestones that the Flames have achieved are a testament to the faith and belief we had in them as the smartphone network,” he said.
In addition to the initial K35 million that Airtel pumped in, the company also supported with free SMSs that were sent out to its 6 million-plus subscribers promoting all the Flames matches at AFCON.
Having already supported FAM’s ‘Kuipatsa Flames Moto’ funds mobilization campaign through the golf tournament held last October as well as the VIP fundraising dinner, Airtel Malawi Plc added a further K20 million towards the cause.
The Airtel sponsorship made ahead of the AFCON
Airtel Malawi, sponsors of the end of the league season tournament — the Airtel Top 8 — committed K2.5 million each for the golf tournament and the VIP fundraising dinner, which was graced by President Lazarus Chakwera.
Vice-President Saulos Chilima supported the fundraising golf tournament held at Lilongwe Golf Club in which he was joined by former Minister of Finance, Felix Mlusu and other high profile corporate executives.
In his remarks, FAM president Walter Nyamilandu thanked sponsors Airtel for always supporting the sport, saying “Airtel is the second highest sponsor of the Flames AFCON fundraising initiative after main sponsor FDH Bank.”
Sponsorship from FDH Bank
“Your support and passion for football is valued as you continue to show Malawi that this is a viable sport to believe and invest in,” Nyamilandu said.
The Flames exited the 2021 AFCON after putting up a gallant fight against formidable teams Senegal and Morocco.
In the group stages, they first lost 0-1 against Guinea; beat Zimbabwe 2-1 before drawing 0-0 with Senegal to book a place in the Round of 16 as best third-placed team.
Game against Morocco at the AFCON
Message of encouragement
They went on to lose 1-2 against north African giants Morocco in a game they started so well when Gabadinho scored in the 7th minute — a goal that jilted the Moroccan who fought hard and eventually carried the day.
In their first AFCON appearance in 1984 in Côte d’Ivoire, the Flames made a huge impression when they led 2-0 against Super Eagles of Nigeria but the game ended 2-2 and went on to lose 0-1 to Ghana and 0-3 against Algeria.
In their second in Angola in 2010, they stirred some excitement in their opening game when they beat north African giants Tunisia 3-1 but lost their consequent matches — 0-2 against the hosts Angola and 1-3 against Mali.
Having had 3 points, Malawi needed a draw to reach their first-ever quarter-final qualification.
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