PRESS STATEMENT
Lilongwe, 7 April, 2022: Standard Bank Plc through the Unayo Platform has announced a K46,125,000 sponsorship for the Division 1 regional football leagues.
This was announced by the Bank’s Head of Consumer and High Net Worth Clients, Charity Mughogho and the President of the Football Association of Malawi (FAM), Walter Nyamilandu during a signing ceremony held at the bank’s headquarters in Lilongwe on Thursday.
The deal comes as the Unayo platform is set to surpass the 100,000 wallets mark in its journey of financial inclusion. The sponsorship gives the Unayo platform a unique channel to engage with its clients spanning across the country.
The Unayo National Regional League is an ideal touch point for the bank and its customers in all the 29 districts of Malawi. The League will be participated by 64 Division 1 Football teams in all the districts of Malawi. With a league played in each of the three regions of the country, namely Southern, Central and Northern regions.
“As you can witness from the rapid growth in users and merchants, the bank has been supporting financial inclusion and provision of financial services in the last mile through Unayo and this league will create an additional touchpoint with all Malawians,” said Mughogho.
Unayo National Regional League will be played by 64 division one teams across the three regions of Malawi with over 700 matches being played in a period of 8 months. Matches will take place within a set-up of peri – urban and rural areas, bringing entertainment and excitement for local football fans in their communities. The league ties in well with what Unayo was set up to achieve, in creating sustainable partnerships that bring solutions to underdeveloped communities. Most financiers of grassroots football are also local business people and Unayo will partner with them to grow its merchant network and further their business growth as small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
The forty-six million Unayo sponsorship will cater to winners prizes for the top 4 teams in each of the 3 regional leagues. With support towards trophies, medals and match balls. Unayo has also pledged support for the administration of the league and match officials. This has all been done to raise the profile of the league. Unayo has also funded a media awards component which will be run at the end of the football season.
Mughogho acknowledged the work that is being done by FAM in bringing structure and professionalism in Malawian football at all levels.
In his remarks the president of FAM, Walter Nyamilandu touted the Unayo sponsorship as an admirable investment.
“Standard Bank is known throughout the region as a major sponsor of football and this partnership will have a major impact on local football, in identifying talent and making the Division more competitive,” he said. The future is about partnerships and Unayo has today shown a commitment to invest in the grassroots to ensure that a brighter future is created for football players and local communities who are passionate about the beautiful game.
“There is vast talent and potential for growth in Division 1, with many of the players who now thrive in the National team having grown through grassroots football. With this in mind, this partnership will support the identification and grooming of the next generation of talent.” said Nyamilandu.
The Unayo Regional League is set to kick off in the next fortnight, with a launch of the new sponsorship.
Unayo is a financial services platform that allows ordinary Malawians to open a personal or business wallet, access their finances anywhere, runs various transactions and be a part of the digital economy. To open a wallet on any phone regardless of mobile network a customer just dials *247# and selects option 2 (Unayo) to register.
For more information please contact:
Nyambura Chege,
Head, Brand and Marketing
E-mail: Nyambura.Chege@standardbank.co.mw
For further information go to https://unayo.standardbank.com/
Issued by FD Communications Ltd | On behalf of: Standard Bank Plc