Airtel Malawi plc yesterday launched the 2022 Airtel Top 8 edition with a challenge to participating teams to live up to expectations in the competition which is in its second of a three-year sponsorship of K234 million.

In his speech at Sunbird Mount Soche in Blantyre, Airtel Malawi plc managing director Charles Kamoto said the smartphone network would like to see this year surpassing last year’s success.

Kamoto (C) appriciating the teams’ uniforms alongside Nyamilandu (R) and Alide during the launch

He said: “When we launched the cup under ‘Zamadolo’ theme last year, we wanted to position a belief in the teams that they are really stalwarts of football in the country.

“We demanded something from the teams because they can’t just get to be ‘Zamadolo’, they must earn it. We saw them doing that.

“We have clearly seen the standards of play going up. That’s one of our motivations. We asked for more goals last year, we saw them coming through.

“We saw a number of players identified through the Airtel Top 8, in the national team that participated at the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

“So, all these add up and energise us and make us believe we are doing the right thing for the country.”

Airtel has also maintained last year’s ‘Zamadolo’ theme.

Kamoto said: “We launched with a theme ‘Zamadolo’ signifying the level of competition, the profiling of the teams that were in the top 8, and, it was also to push them hard to prove the theme and we saw that happening at the end of last season.

“So, we are actually saying when season five is coming, we can step up again where we left last year. Since ‘Zamadolo’ was successful, we feel we must maintain it.”

FAM competitions committee chairperson Jabbar Alide, who is also the association’s first vice-president, said they will strive to surpass last year’s success.

He said: “Our expectations this year are very high. Last year the ‘Zamadolo’ Airtel Top 8 was the best ever. We expect that this year we are going to raise the bar further.”

Alide, a judge of the High Court of Malawi, also announced that this year, Airtel Top 8 will be live-streamed on Fifa’s digital platform Fifa+, following an agreement between the association and the mother body.

He said this will help to expose the sponsor’s brand and Malawi football.

Alide said: “People who want to see how passionate we are about football will be able to do that through Fifa+.

“For Airtel, it means we will be able to carry the Airtel brand beyond Malawi, beyond Africa to the whole world.”

FAM president Walter Nyamilandu thanked fans for being instrumental in the partnership between FAM and Airtel.

He said: “So far, the fans have been amazing. Their behaviour has been exceptional. That’s why the sponsors are coming back.

Just like last year, champions will receive K17.5 million while runners up will get K5 million.

Meanwhile, the cup kicks off tomorrow as defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets host Karonga United in quarterfinals first leg at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.

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