The newly Southern Region Football League Promoted team, Ekhaya Football Club on Wednesday evening unveiled their 2024 Football Season kit, announcing their arrival in professional football.
The Blantyre-based team were promoted to the Premier Division after winning Division 1 last year under the tutelage of Jimmy ZakaZaka and they are aiming to play in the elite league.
Speaking during the unveiling ceremony, William Mpinganjira who is the representative of the Club said they are ambitious and they want to be a certain team after five years.
“We are targeting young people, and we believe that they will start supporting us,” he said. “Like Manchester City, they were not a big club if we look back to five years.
“As Sponsors, Ekhaya Group of Companies, we are sure that one day we will have supporters.
“Our ambition is to get promoted to the Super League. We were talking to Jimmy [ZakaZaka] and his assistant about why not [being promoted] this year.
“We are supporting them, giving them resources, players’ welfare so that on the pitch, they can perform without any worries.”
Ekhaya replica jerseys hit the market
Ambitious Ekhaya FC have now become the first team playing in the second-tier league to have replica jerseys.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mpinganjira said the sponsorship only from Ekhaya Group of Companies will not be enough to fulfill all the needs of the team.
“It is not enough for a sponsor to be in control of the Club. Football nowadays, Clubs need to have other ways of making money for the betterment of the team. It is, therefore, for this reason we have decided to bring these replica jerseys.
“We will be selling these jerseys to supporters who will be willing to support us. We know that we are a new team, but as I said, we had no Man City supporters in Malawi, but nowadays we have them.
“Though we are a newly founded team, we have full confidence that we have the possibility and capabilities of having supporters,” he said.
FAM hails Ekhaya FC
Football Association of Malawi has hailed Ekhaya FC for their ambition and doing things professionally, saying they have set a good example that other teams need to follow.
FAM President, Fleetwood Haiya who bought a replica jersey at MK500, 000 at the event said Ekhaya FC have done things in line with the dreams of transforming the game in Malawi.
“Let me urge all the Clubs who are yet to embrace commercialization to embrace it. As FAM, we encourage teams to run their Clubs professionally.
“Ekhaya FC have given us a good example, they have come up with innovative ideas and we are calling upon the teams to embrace this.
“If we want others to help us, firstly, we need to help ourselves. Let us support them [Ekhaya] even though it is not the team that you support,” he said.
