H. Adam Wholesalers, the official sponsors of the Eastern Region Football Association (ERFA) Durata Premier Division League, have expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the maiden edition of the league which saw Changalume Barracks being crowned champions at Mangochi Stadium on Saturday.
As champions, the soldiers failed to put icing on the cake of their crowning when they lost to Mangochi All Stars 1-0 through a goal scored by Hassan Hussein who came off the bench in the first half of the match.
H. Adam Wholesalers’ Regional Sales Manager, Oster Banda, said they were excited that their objective to develop football from the grassroot levels was bearing fruits and continuing with the sponsorship was a no-brainer.
“We are committed to continue with this relationship and we will review the negatives and positives and map the way forward. In terms of increasing sponsorship packages, we will also consider how we can improve on that, and obviously, the figures will have to go up,” said Banda.
In his remarks, Vice Chairman for the ERFA, Issa Ibrahim, revelled in adulation on how his team conducted the league by observing principles of fairness, integrity and respect as well as following principles of accountability and transparency.
“We are happy with how everything has transpired from 1st June 2025. Despite other challenges, we have seen stiff competition among teams. We also have a good relationship with the sponsors,” Ibrahim said.
The crowning ceremony was graced by Football Association of Malawi (FAM) Executive Member, Daudi Ntanthiko, who lauded ERFA for conducting their maiden league without glitches and reckoned that a team from the region is poised to play in the elite league in the near future.
He also asked people in the region to continue buying H. Adams Wholesalers’ products for the sponsorship to continue.
The Durata Premier Division League kicked off on 31st May 2025 in Balaka and was sponsored to the tune of K26 million, drawing the participation of 12 teams from Balaka, Zomba, Machinga, Mangochi and Phalombe districts.
Changalume Barracks have been promoted into the National Division League while Lipulumundu FC, Becks Academy, and Nselema United have now been relegated to the ERFA Division One League.
