Sports minister hails NBM plc for transforming women’s football

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Patricia Wiskes, has commended National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc for investing in women’s football, following the conclusion of the inaugural NBM Women’s Premiership at Silver Stadium in Lilongwe on Saturday.

Silver Strikers Ladies defeated FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Women 2–1 in the competition’s last match.

Wiskes described the sponsorship as a landmark investment that has enabled Malawi’s women footballers to compete on the continental stage.

“As a ministry, we value these sponsorships so much because it is through this sponsorship that our women in football have been able to compete for Africa. It is really a landmark in the growth of women’s football in Malawi, and we hope the sponsor has been satisfied and that we will continue engaging going forward,” said Wiskes.

She further called on more stakeholders to emulate NBM plc’s example and support the growth of women’s football in the country.

NBM plc Chief Financial Officer, Daniel Jere said the Bank was impressed with the quality of football and the progress made during the first edition of the premiership.

“As a sponsor of the NBM Women’s Football Premiership, we are very excited by the developments that have taken place since we decided to sponsor this premiership. Overall, our impression is that the first edition has been a great success,” said Jere.

He added that the premiership is already yielding results beyond domestic competition.

“We are also encouraged that the Premiership has contributed players who have gone on to represent Malawi at the international level, including those who featured in the Women’s AFCON tournament,” said Jere.

Jere said the Bank will conduct a comprehensive review of the first edition before communicating the way forward.

“We will soon be conducting a thorough review of the first edition, and we will communicate the way forward on this particular sponsorship plan,” said Jere.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) President Fleetwood Haiya said the league has achieved its objective of providing a structured and competitive platform for women’s football.

“National Bank of Malawi believed in our women and believed in a group that had not received adequate attention. We are very happy to see this vision realised,” said Haiya.

The inaugural premiership, launched on 26 July last year, brought together teams from across Malawi and marked the first fully structured national premiership for women’s football.

The win, means Silver Strikers Ladies have finished the season with 48 points from 18 matches, and as champions, they pocketed K10 million.

The Women’s Premiership forms part of NBM plc’s K1.58 billion investment in sports development, with women’s football identified as a key area with significant growth potential.