NOZOBAL, Mumba sign 3-year sponsorship deal

The Northern Zone Basketball League (NOZOBAL) has signed a 3-year sponsorship deal with politician Vitumbiko Mumba worth K45 million.

The K45 million deal, which will run from this year to 2027, will see teams from the northern zone competing for K15 million per season.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, Mumba who started sponsoring the league last season said he decided to enter into a long-term deal with NOZOBAL to allow the league administrators plan their activities properly.

“You see I am a basketballer, that is the only sports I know apart from Chess. So, the leadership of NOZOBAL approached me because the chairperson Chakufwa is my friend from 2013, so when they approached me last year, I said okay let us do this,” Mumba said.

He added; “Along the way, the bond between me and the NOZOBAL leadership started growing and I went beyond the sponsorship, then I said let us double the sponsorship, instead of having a seasonal let us have a long-term sponsorship deal.”

Aside from sponsoring the league, Mumba has also committed to help NOZOBAL to acquire land and assist in the construction of a modern basketball court in Mzuzu.

Said Mumba; “I said let us find land to construct a basketball court, I will pay for the land. Once we do, we will see what to do in terms of constructing the court. So long resources permit we can be together as we go forward.”

On his part, NOZOBAL General Secretary Isaac Ndemera commended Mumba for the support and promised to use the funds prudently.

“We are very happy; it was not easy to get here. We have struggled as a zone; we have played basketball without sponsorship but now we are lucky. Recently we had our AGM where we stipulated some of our financial controls. One of the key issues is accountability, so we are going to be more accountable with the funds and make sure that we don’t lose such opportunities.”

Commenting on Mumba’s commitment to help NOZOBAL with a basketball court, Basketball Association of Malawi(BASMAL) General Secretary Peter Gomani promised to provide technical support.

“We came here for the signing of the sponsorship, which was big news already and to receive another big news on top of the big news, we are excited because, we will own our basketball court where our youth will have easy access,” Gomani said.

“The challenge that we had previously with private basketball courts is access, so if the youth have access every time they want to play basketball we know that we will achieve the goal of developing them to play basketball. So, as Basketball Association of Malawi, we look forward to support this initiative and provide technical support, any support that will be needed from our end,” he added.