FMB has pledged continued sponsorship of the Under-20 National Championship.
The bank’s head of marketing Sylvia Mataka made the pledge on Saturday after the finals of the tournament at Zomba Community Centre ground where Dedza Police Youth emerged champions after beating Mangochi Police Reserves 3-2 .
“The evidence is there for all to see because FMB U-20 leagues have unearthed talent that we see in Super League clubs in the country. Other players are with the Flames at the Cecafa Challenge Cup tournament in Ethiopia.
“The statistics shows that we really have talent to expose and this drives us on to continue sponsoring,” she said.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu hailed First Merchant Bank (FMB) for assisting in the development of football in the country through sponsoring the junior leagues.
“The tournament has been a breeding ground for promising talent and some of the players are playing for the senior and junior national teams. It’s importance therefore, cannot be overemphasised,” he said.
It was a deserved win for the Central Region side who also booted out last year’s champions Fish Eagles 3-1 the previous day in the semi-finals.
Goals from Tinkhani Wazomba and a brace from Henry Joseph, which also earned him the golden boot award, were enough to seal the victory for Dedza Police Youth. Mangochi came twice to equalize through goals from Luciano Paul and Player of the Tournament Hassan Kajoke. Joseph and Kajoke each received K50 000 for their feat.
Dedza Police Youth received K750 000 plus a trophy for being champions whereas Mangochi Police reserve went away with K500 000 as runners-up. Some technical people from Super League clubs as well as the regional leagues were present to scout for players. Super League of Malawi (Sulom) vice-president Daud Suleman was also in attendance.