The 4th edition of the Malawi Sports Awards will be held on Saturday 16th February 2024 at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe.
This was disclosed by Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) Board Chairperson Dr. Sunduzwayo Madise during a press briefing that was held at MNCS head office in Blantyre on Friday morning.
According to Dr. Madise, the 2023 Malawi Sports Awards aims to recognize outstanding sports personalities and sports institutions that have made tremendous efforts in contributing to the development of sport in the country in 2023.
‘’The sports awards are back and we are very excited, we had great awards last year but this year we want to make them bigger and better. We have even sent an invitation to His Excellency the President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera to come and grace the occasion because he is the first citizen of this country and at this event, we are going to celebrate and applaud our athletes, administrators as well as the media so we wish if he was available to come that he be with us at the event, we have also extended invitations to members of the private sector, government department and agencies, parastatals, and also members of the diplomatic call
‘’The awards are very significant because we recognize the achievements that our athletes, sports administrators and the media have done towards the development of sports, but also it is a way of encouraging them so that they know that they are being recognized for whatever they are doing. It is also a way of engaging the stakeholders and the public. The public may not physically be there but through watching on TV and listening to the radio they will be with us and it is also important for us to celebrate the achievement of 2023,’’ explained Dr. Madise
The 2023 Malawi sports awards will see athletes junior and senior, citizen and non-citizen and sports administrators compete in 17 categories which include Junior Female Sportsperson of the Year (up to the age of 17, or born in 2006 or later), Junior Female Sportsperson of the Year (up to the age of 17, or born in 2006 or later), Sportswoman with disability, Sportsman with disability, Sportswoman of the Year, Sportsman of the Year, Sports administrator of the year, Non-citizen of the year, National Team of the Year, Sports Code of the Year, Best executed sport development program of the year, Sports District of the year, Umpire/Judge/Referee of the Year, Coach of the year, Media House of the Year, Sports Personality of the Year and The Chairman award.
According to the Chairperson of the Marketing and Research Committee of Malawi National Council of Sports Mr. Gladson Kuyeri, the 2023 Malawi Sports Awards will cost the Council over MK100 million.
‘’ This is a big event and it’s a platform that corporates in the country should take advantage of, it will be better and bigger than last year. In terms of opportunities that are there for the corporate world, we have four categories of sponsorship. The first is the Platinum category where the sponsor will pay MK20 million and will have the naming rights of the event, the second is the Gold category worth 15 million where the sponsor will be able to advertise their products and services and the third, is the Silver category at 10 million and companies will be allowed to place their banners at the venue and lastly, we have the bronze category at 5 million and companies will just be mentioned in our advertising,’’ explained Kuyeri
Winners at this year’s event will receive a trophy and prize money of MK700,000 while the second and third positions will be compensated with MK150,000.