‘Darts are played by mature people who run businesses’

These were the words of Carlos Tavengwa, the managing director of Vaiton Refrigeration which also sponsors Archers Darts Club, a team that operates in the Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Darts Association and has so far been invincible, crushing all that comes before them.
Tawengwa says he has no regrets whatsoever on his decision to sponsor Archers.
“So far so good for me. I am even thinking of sponsoring the whole darts league next season because I have since realised that the league is well run and the team that I sponsor is doing so well. I urge other businesspersons out there to consider sponsoring darts as part of their social obligation,” said Tawengwa.

He said he was introduced into the game by city businessman Omega Sibanda, who owns Archers Sports Club.
The team boasts of talented players like Tafadzwa Ncube, Benjamin Ncube, their captain Mkhululi Dube, Martin Dube, non playing captain Earnest “Maphepha” Sibanda as well as football legend Willard “Mawii” Mashinkila-Khumalo.

“We were watching one of their games at Archers and I asked him whether uniforms were not allowed in darts because players were putting on different attires and it was a bit clumsy for me,” he said.

He said upon being told by Sibanda that the team lacked and was looking for sponsorship, he felt the urge to assist them in that regard and a few days later, a one-year sponsorship deal was sealed.

“I undertook to sponsor them for a year in the form of home and away playing kits as well as training T-shirts,” said the 31-year-old father of one.
Tawengwa said for any sport to grow to its expected level, there is  a serious need for the corporate world to come on board and pour a little bit of money.

The sponsorship also helps  in improving the standard of the game as witnessed by the ever high morale exhibited by Archers players, who are yet to lose and with the way they are playing, they will certainly have a say in the direction of the league title, whose destination in the last two years has been Barham Green, home of Ah-Sat.

Highlanders is another team which enjoys good corporate support as they have three pharmacies sponsoring them although Supermed Pharmacy is the most visible as the other two asked not to be named but have their names engraved on the team shirts.