Mon, 28 Nov 2016 18:59:50 +0000
By Sports Reporter ZAMBIA needs more cup tournaments to promote competition among teams and provide a bigger reservoir from which to choose national team players, the Zambia Sports Fans Association (ZASPOFA) has said. ZASPOFA patron Peter Makembo saluted Barclays Bank-Zambia for its continued sponsorship of the Barclays Cup since its inception in 2007.
He challenged other business houses to consider coming together to sponsor other cups to enhance competition among local teams. Makembo said the mouth-watering encounter in the Barclays Cup final between Zesco United and Zanaco on Saturday did not only provide an opportunity for fans to watch the country’s finest players on pitch, but also provided an opportunity to the sponsors to sell their products.
He said there were bigger business entities in Zambia which had failed to even sponsor a single team in the lower leagues yet amassing huge profits which could help them to grow their business because corporate social responsibility (CSR) was a marketing strategy for business turnovers.
He said Zambian football had taken long to reach desirable standards due to lack of competition on many fronts because teams just compete for two trophies. He said lack of a variety of competition initiatives had significantly led to the dwindling of soccer standards in the country. “First of all, we would like to thank Barclays Bank Zambia Plc for its relentless efforts in transforming football standards in Zambia.
When they started sponsoring the Cup in 2007, the tournament was not as competitive as it is today, “But what the fans were treated to on Saturday between Zesco United and Zanaco was world class football. This does not just help teams improve their performances but also provides an opportunity for the sponsor to sell their products right at the stadium,” said Makembo He said business houses should initiate programmes that bring them closer to government so that their operations became smooth.
