Business magnate Thomson Mpinganjira says he is not bankrolling Mighty Mukuru Wanderers to make profits but help the club rediscover its glory.
The philanthropist, speaking to Times Exclusive host Brian Banda on Times TV on Saturday night, also disclosed that he was prioritising turning Wanderers into a fully fledged commercial entity, other than buying the team, having been offered a chance to own the side.
“When I started [financially] supporting Wanderers in 2021, the team was on the verge of collapse as they had no funds to join the league. From that year to December 2023, I have spent about K900 million whereas Mukuru have spent about K300 million.
“I am not sponsoring the team to make gains. Imagine, we spend about K6 million to honour a fixture in Karonga but we only get K800,000 or K600,000 through gate collections. I can buy the team. There is no financial gain but we are still required to pay players, technical members and meet logistical expenses,” Mpinganjira said.
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The Wanderers President said he started sponsoring the club out of pity, as he did not want the team to die naturally.
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“I am doing this out of passion because I know it makes a lot of people happy. Besides that, football unites people of different backgrounds. You see people of different political affiliation coming together celebrating,” Mpinganjira said.
When asked if he was going to buy Wanderers following the offer, Mpinganjira said his priority was commercialising the team to attract more partners.
“I am still considering the offer as I have been sponsoring Wanderers. People are failing to differentiate between sponsoring and buying the team. I was offered the team but I would like to develop the team through commercialisation to get more corporate partners,” he said.
Former Wanderers fullback Ojukwu Malunga said the team must tread cautiously as Mpinganjira is still assessing if supporting the side can be a viable project.
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“Obviously, the club president wants to study the environment and implement his ideas. No wonder, he is offering annual support,” Malunga said.
