2022 FDH Bank Cup edition be played between June and September

* Preliminary Round matches will be played between May 29 and June 12

* Nominees for 2021 Player of the Tournament award include Silver Strikers goalkeeper Charles Thom, goalkeeper Chancy Mtete for Ekwendeni Hammers and Silver midfielder Blessing Tembo

Maravi Express

The 2022 edition of the FDH Bank Cup — participated by 16 TNM Super League teams and 62 Regional Leagues Premier Division teams (22 from the South, 18 from the Centre and 18 from the North) — will be played for four months between June and September 2022.

Its Preliminary Round matches, whose draw will be held tomorrow at Ryalls Hotel in Blantyre, will be played between May 29 and June 12.

The national knockout cup, organised by the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and sponsored by FDH Bank at K90 million, will be pit Regional League teams playing in their respective regional championships to come up with 16 teams — that will qualify for the national phase (6 from the South and 5 each from the Centre and the North).

According to Fam.mw, teams that qualify for the centre for the preliminary phase are:

South

Bangula Hammers, Prescane, -Destiny FC, Changalume Barracks, Wanderers Reserve, Nyasa BB Reserve, Chinamwali Stars, -Prison United, Ntopwa FC, Steffords, White Eagles, FOMO, The Boyz, Neno Giants, Ntaja United, MDF Marine, Mangochi United, Zomba Air Base, Bangwe All Stars, lmmigration, Nyasa United, MUBAS.

Centre

Mkanda youth, Ngwanje FC, Support Battalion, Extreme FC, Kawinga FC, Ngolowindo FC, Villa FC, Silver Strikers Reserves, Simbi FC Mitundu Strikers, Airborne Rangers, St Gabriel Medicals, Kamuzu Barracks Reserves, Ekas Freight Wanderers, Dedza Young Soccer, Panthers FC, Mbavi, Luanar FC.

North

Chitipa United, Lufita FC, Baka City, Iponga FC, Chiluba Barracks, Mighty Rumphi Wanderers, Ekwendeni United, Ekwendeni Hard knockers, Tafika Sports Academy, Mayamiko stars, Nkhatabay Select, Chintheche United, Kadona Stars, Raiply FC, Mzimba United, Mzimba Young Bullets, Embangweni FC, Chipolopolo FC.

The procedure for the draw is that the South will have two rounds of matches to determine the six teams needed. From the 22 participating teams, the top team in each of the two Zones as per the log table of Monday, May 23, will be seeded from Round 1.

This means this round will comprise the remaining 20 teams who will play in a knockout format to identify the 10 teams that will qualify for the second round.

In Round 2, the two seeded teams will join 10 winners from Round 1 and the 12 teams will battle it out for the six slots in the national draw.

The Central and Northern Regions will also have two rounds of matches to determine the six teams for the national phase with 2 teams being seeded among the three top teams from the three Zones as per the log table of Monday, May 23.

The remaining 16 teams will play in the first round to identify 8 teams to qualify for the second round in which they will be joined by the two seeded teams to identify the final 5 teams.

At the draw tomorrow, FDH Bank will also present 2021 FDH Bank Cup individual awards in the players and media categories.

FAM Competitions and Communications Director, Gomezgani Zakazaka is quoted by Fam.mw as saying more details will be unveiled at the draw but some nominees for the individual players awards include Silver Strikers goalkeeper, Charles Thom, who’ve had a 2021 to remember as well as a wonderful debut appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Cameroun.

He has been nominated for the Player of the Tournament award and Fam.mw takes note that Thom “displaced Brighton Munthali as Silver Strikers number one goalkeeper and played a crucial role in Silver Strikers’ run to being crowned the inaugural FDH Cup champions”.

“He was unbeaten in three matches and only conceded two goals in the quarterfinal match against Nyasa Big Bullets. He then saved two penalties in the shoot-out as Silver eliminated Bullets and was unbeaten against Mighty Wanderers in the semis and Ekwendeni in the final.”

Another nominee is also a goalkeeper, Chancy Mtete for Ekwendeni Hammers, who played 5 games in which he was in the first XI and was inspirational for his team in which they qualified for their first-ever major cup final which they lost 2-0 to Silver Strikers.

“He played all the five games and conceded three goals but managed to keep three clean sheets en-route to the final,” says Fam.mw. “His rise to become Ekwendeni Hammers’ number one goal-minder is interesting.

“He was playing for the team’s reserves at the beginning of the season but was called to the main team just nine games into the season as a cover-up after the team’s established keepers were dropped for disciplinary breaches.

“Mtete grabbed the opportunity, securing the position and playing like a seasoned campaigner to inspire Hammers to the final. His performance saw him being called for the Malawi Under-23 national football team which went to Turkey and where he was first choice goalkeeper.

Midfielder for Silver Strikers, Blessing Tembo is the third nominee, whom Fam.mw says “mystery remains on how [he] returned to Silver Strikers after he was labelled as a traitor following his unceremonious exit three years before”.

“But, for sure, his return in 2021 was worth it as he was one of the team’s key players in the 2021 season as the Bankers won the FDH Bank Cup and finished as runners-up in the Super League and Airtel Top 8.

“He had a decent run in the FDH Cup as the bankers became the first winners of the Cup. He was the architecture of Silver Strikers’ come-from-behind win against Big Bullets in the quarterfinals, walking away with the Man-of-the-Match award.

“He scored one of the goals of the tournament as the Bankers ripped apart Be Forward Wanderers in the semifinal and shone in the final as well.

Charles Thom and Chancy Mtete have also been nominated for Goalkeeper of the Tournament award together with Innocent Nyasulu for Rumphi United.

Rumphi United were the most outstanding Non-Super League side in the FDH Cup as they were the only Regional League outfit to reach the semifinals in which they eliminated giants Red Lions in the Round of 16 and in the semifinal managed to hold Ekwendeni to a goalless draw  in regulation time before bowing out on penalties.

“One of their key players was the youthful goalkeeper Nyasulu who kept two clean sheets and was the hero in their victory over Red Lions after saving two penalties in the shootout.

“His heroics saw him being called for the Flames AFCON preliminary squad, but he failed to join camp due to CoVID-19.”

Champions Silver Strikers seem to also dominate on the number of nominees as their midfielder Zebron Kalima is named Discovery of the Season, who — before the 2021 season, was playing for Silver Strikers Reserves and was called to the main team to fill the gap after Duncan Nyoni joined Tanzanian giants Simba FC.

“He was one of the outstanding players for Silver Strikers — starting three of the five matches, including the final [and] was on fire in the final match [in which] he was named Man-of-the-Match as Silver Strikers beat Ekwendeni Hammers 2-0.

“His performance in the FDH Bank Cup has elevated the youngster as one of the key players for the bankers and he made his way into the Flames squad for 2021 AFCON in Cameroun.”