MultiChoice has donated US$20,000 towards the $2 million budget for Copper Queens for their preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
MultiChoice Zambia Managing Director Kobus Bezuidenhout who handed over the cheque to Madam Charity Lumpa, the leader of the committee of eminent women tasked with fundraising for the team said MultiChoice was aware of the challenges that the Association was facing in ensuring that the Copper Queens succeed at the Olympics.
“As we celebrate the qualification of the Copper Queens to the 2020 Olympics, we are aware of the many challenges that the Association faces in ensuring that our team not only succeed at the Olympics but that their time there is made as comfortable as possible allowing the team to only worry about their opponents and winning the cup. It is for this reason that we are heeding the call by the Football Association of Zambia to offer support to our Women’s National team with a cheque to the value of $20,000,” he said.
“We are very proud of the Copper Queens participation in the Tokyo Olympics as they are representing our country, as it is the first time that Zambia will have representation at the Olympics since 1988 when the men’s national team reached the quarter-finals. I’m hopeful that our support will help them perform better, thereby, raising the Zambian flag even higher,” he added.
Madam Lumpa thanked MultiChoice for their gesture given the daunting times that businesses are facing during this time of COVID-19.
“We are so thankful to Multichoice Zambia for donating 20, 000 USD and we believe that this will go a long way in helping the team prepare adequately for the games in Tokyo, Japan,” she said.
“It is not easy to raise Funds in these times of COVID-19 because many businesses are facing financial challenges. Therefore, this donation from MultiChoice Zambia has come at the right time and will boost morale as we prepare for Olympics 2020.”
“This is a sign that MultiChoice has a strong gender focus and for us, it is a source of pride,” he added.
Meanwhile, FAZ Executive Committee member Colonel Priscilla Katoba who represented the FAZ president, assured that the girls will not go to Japan to participate but compete.
“I want to assure that the girls will not just go there as participants, we have refused the word participant, but we will go and compete. We are doing all our best as FAZ so that they go and represent the country so well. We are going to bring the gold and not go as participants.”
ZANACO Bank where the first institution to come on board as they donated US$7,000 [K157,000] towards the $2 million budget for the Copper Queens Olympics outing.
Lumpa leads the committee of eminent Women that also comprises Colonel Priscilla Katoba, Dr. Tukiya Mabula Kankasa, Priscilla Mutale Nkanza, Ndiyoyi Mutiti, and Brenda Kunda.
The committee has so far raised USD30, 000 of the targeted USD 2 Million. Zambia is in Group F alongside Brazil, Netherlands, and China at the Olympics.
