The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) is looking for companies to sponsor the country’s FA Cup after confirming there will be no Castel Challenge Cup this year.
The association says it has not reached an agreement with Castel Malawi, which has backed the competition for the past three seasons and will not renew its deal.
FAM Communications Officer Collins Nsunza confirmed the development. He said the association is now talking to prospective sponsors to take over the tournament.
Nsunza said FAM is not under immediate pressure to find a backer, because the football calendar runs until March 2027, leaving time to close a new deal.
The search comes after a sponsorship that reshaped the competition. Signed in April 2023, the Castel deal was a three-year commitment worth K1 billion, about K320 million a season. It was described as record-breaking and was meant to build a tournament running from the grassroots to the national level.
In February 2024, Castel raised the annual package to K400 million a season to protect the tournament from the devaluation of the local currency.
Under Castel’s backing, the cup was won by two of Malawi’s biggest clubs. FCB Nyasa Big Bullets lifted the trophy twice and Mighty Mukuru Wanderers once.
