FCB coming back bigger

First Capital Bank (FCB), sponsors of FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, have hinted at investing a fortune in the People’s Team with both parties confirming that negotiations for sponsorship extension are at an advanced stage. In March 2023, FCB unveiled a K525 million three-year sponsorship for Bullets which expires next month. The sponsorship package translated to K175 million annually.

In an interview yesterday, FCB head of marketing Twikale Chirwa said their valentine message on their billboards which reads ‘Maule! Be my valentine…trans ID loading’ is a hint of the good things to come. “Our romance with the People’s Team will have to continue for us to achieve our objetive and commitment to develop football in Malawi and supporting FAM’s [Football Association of Malawi] agenda of transforming the game,” he said.

“We want to create a sustainable partnership that will help us achieve shared goals. However, the name Big Bullets alwayds demands more and better.” Chirwa’s statement comes in the wake of Bullets president Konrad Buckle’s sentiments in an interview with Times Television’s Mtedza-Mtedza Sports Programme that the next sponsorship deal will be massive. He was quoted as saying: “As a matter of fact, we are negotiating a new contract for the next three years and I believe it is going to shock the football fraternity.” However, both Chirwa and Buckle could not be drawn to hint at the figures.

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In the first year if the their romance with FCB, Bullets swept all domestic silverware—the TNM Super League, Castel Challenge Cup, FDH Bank Cup and the Airtel Top 8. Last season, the People’s Team won the Airtel Top 8, but lost in the final of the FDH Bank Cup to Blue Eagles on ;post-match penalties. They finished third in the league.

This season, they have again retained the Aitel Top 8 and are in the final of the Castel Challenge Cup in which they face Goshen City Dedza Dynamos this Saturday. In the league, they finished as runners-up to their age-old rivals Mighty Wanderers. In an earlier interview last year, Chirwa said the sponsorship has made FCB a household name.

He said: “We are referred to as the people’s bank because of the People’s Team. Our transition to being known as FCB has been made easy because of this partnership. “We have been able to reach the unbanked through Bullets’ supporters registration initiative where we open accounts and also give debit cards to supporters from all corners of Malawi.”

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