Malawi goalkeeper Charles Thom has been rewarded with pieces of land and ksh136,296 ($1,200) following his man-of-the match displays at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Real estate firms, Hills and Associates Limited and Sulsdec Green Villages have rewarded the young keeper with the pieces of land in Lilongwe where he plays for Silver Strikers FC.
The goalkeeper who made his debut for Malawi at the African tournament has also received other rewards from various organisations in his country.
To add on the rewards, ICT company, Sparc Systems LTD, has honoured its Malawi Kwacha ksh139,089 (MK1 million) pledge to Thom for emerging as the man of the match award in the Group B game against Senegal.
Sparcs Managing Director Wisely Phiri told Malawi FA media that they felt proud to associate with the exploits of the 22-year-old keeper who stepped in for injured Ernest Kakhobwe in the game against Senegal.
“We decided to beef up the morale by giving the goalkeeper 1 million Kwacha to appreciate the outstanding work he has done for the Senegal vs Malawi game.
“Football is more than just a sport. It plays a role in international development by putting the country on the map and does bring positive change to our youths. We wish our team all the best. They should know that the whole country is behind them,” Phiri stated.
Thomthanked the organisations for the recognition where he insisted that the biggest recognition should go to the whole team for the effort to get the results.
Earlier Hill and Associates also rewarded striker Gabadinho Mhango with a 20 by 30metre piece of land valued at ksh638,887 ($5,625) in the capital Lilongwe for scoring a brace where Malawi came-from-behind winning 2-1 over Zimbabwe on Friday, January 14.
Furthermore, the firm offered the rest of the players a 40 percent discount for any piece of land they may wish to buy in recognition of their relatively impressive start to Group B AFCON campaign.
Malawi have since qualified to the Round-of-16 as among the third best teams across the six four-member groups and will be playing against Morocco.