Olympics-bound athletes Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma on Thursday received a timely boost when Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) announced a lucrative sponsorship deal of N.dollars 2 million for each athlete over three years.

The announcement was made on Thursday in Windhoek by MTC’s Chief Human Capital and Corporate Affairs Officer, Tim Ekandjo

“We are delighted to announce that we have officially welcomed Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma to the MTC family. Through this support we are reiterating our unyielding position that sports development is central to nation-building,” he said.

Ekandjo said as part of the sponsorship, N.dollars 300 000 will go towards the construction of houses for each athlete at their respective villages, with each athlete and their coach to receive brand-new iPhone 12s, valued at N.dollars 24 000 per phone, twice during the three years, and a monthly airtime voucher of N.dollars 3 000 (N.dollars 36 000 annually).

The athletes will also receive N.dollars 250 000 annually for three years for preparations, and another N.dollars 100 000 annually for their personal upkeep and expenses.

Ekandjo also said MTC has committed to hosting one local athletics event in Namibia to honour the achievements of both athletes at a cost of N.dollars 1 million.

“MTC has always supported sport, our investment in the Namibia Youth Games now known as the MTC Youth Games is evidence that when you invest in youth development you are most likely to get results and we are certainly proud that both these athletes are products of the Youth Games,” Ekandjo added.

He further wished the two athletes and the rest of the Namibian team participating in the Olympics a successful campaign at the Tokyo games.

Accepting the sponsorship on behalf of the athletes, their coach Henk Botha said in Namibia people do not have a professional attitude towards sports, hence the donation by MTC will put Namibia amongst the best in the world as athletes will be able to prepare at the same level as their counterparts.

“If you compete against the Americans, you can just imagine how much they invest in their athletes. This is a huge step in professional athletics and sports in Namibia,” Botha said.

The sponsorship announced by MTC is the largest ever made to individual athletes in Namibia.

Source: Namibia Press Agency