Dubbed the FDH Flames Friday
* The official Flames sponsor is embracing the teams’ third AFCON qualification
* I was also amazed with the excitement of their customers who have taken a great liking for the Flames—Nyamilandu
* This is what we call patriotism at its best. It shows FDH’s serious ownership of the sponsorship
By Duncan Mlanjira
When FAM president Walter Nyamilandu walked into FDH Bank’s Limbe Branch on Friday morning, he was amazed at the exuberance of enthusiasm displayed by all members of staff dressed in the Flames jerseys.
This is FDH’s expression that this official sponsor of the Flames is fully embracing the Flames’ Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals qualification to be held in Cameroun from next January.
The campaign of total support is dubbed ‘FDH Flames Friday’ and Nyamilandu applauded the bank for setting the pace in building up momentum ahead of the Flames’ third AFCON appearance.
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When he visited the Limbe Branch, Nyamilandu mingled with the staff and customers and took pictures with the enthusiastic staff to show his delight of the initiative.
In a statement, Nyamilandu said: “It was buzzing today at FDH Bank, Limbe Branch as I walked in to take pictures with the members of staff. I was also amazed with the excitement of their customers who have taken a great liking for the Flames.
“This is what we call patriotism at its best. It shows serious ownership of the sponsorship by FDH and how happy they are with the partnership.
“FAM is extremely proud of FDH Bank for being with us through thick and thin. Their investment in the Flames has finally paid off — at the end of the day, it’s the value for money that counts.
The strong partnership
“I am glad that the Flames have lived to their expectations,” Nyamilandu said.
In the statement, FDH Bank Limbe Branch Manager, Penelope Mwale thanked Nyamilandu for honoring the event and said as a bank they are happy to be associated with the Flames.
“As the official sponsor of the Flames, we are happy with this milestone
achievement by the National team, the team is a source of national pride,” she said. “Our staff at Limbe branch and across the FDH group are excited to be part of FDH Flames Friday and they are already looking forward to next Friday.”
Nkunika (right)
According to FDH Head of Marketing, Levie Nkunika, the initiative is important to celebrate Malawi’s feat having last qualified for the continental showpiece in 2010, Angola, having made it first in 1984 in Côte d’Ivoire.
“FDH is celebrating the Flames’ achievement at the same time enjoying the fruits of our investment,” he said. “FDH came in at the time when the Flames were not given a chance.
“Qualifying for AFCON is no mean achievement and this is worth celebrating in an extraordinary way,” he said.
FDH Bank has been the official sponsor of the Flames for the past six years now with a yearly package of K60 million and it has just completed a K100,000 investment account to 30 squad players as token of appreciation for the last month’s 1-0 win over Uganda that sealed the AFCON qualification.
The FDH-FAM partnership started at K30 million from 2016 but was increased to K60 million in 2019, in cognizance that football development needs massive investment for national teams to produce results.
Also in 2019, FDH Bank raised the bar in cup sponsorship by unveiling a K90 million League Cup five-year package of which the winners shall receive K25 million while the runners-up will go away with K8 million.
The K90 million League Cup support
The tournament was supposed to have kicked off in May last year but couldn’t have started off because of the CoVID-19 pandemic.
The format was to start with all the three regional league level as a preliminary round, from which it was to produce top 16 teams who were to join the 16 TNM Super League sides.
All this is on top of the sponsorship contract that FDH Bank has with the country’s four cities, Mzuzu, Lilongwe, Zomba and Blantyre, through the Mayor’s Trophy, which is a grassroots level tournaments for primary schools.
“No bank believes in the potential of the youth of Malawi, than FDH Bank,” Nkunika had said in 2019. “That is the reason we pioneered the development of grassroots football in the primary schools in Malawi city’s through the sponsorship of Mayor’s Trophies which completes the equation when it comes to promoting raw talent.
“No bank believes in the potential of Malawi football, than FDH Bank, that is the reason we first partnered with FAM by sponsoring the Flames in August 2016 when Malawi football was at its lowest.
“We have seen a general improvement in performance of the Flames as well and some milestones worth noting and celebrating is dominance of young players in the national team, players like Peter Banda and Gerald Phiri Junior.
“This means one thing; the future of our football is bright. The bank champions growth,” Nkunika had said.
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