* Blue Eagles v Silver Strikers at Nankhaka Stadium; Bangwe All Stars v Nyasa Big Bullets at Kamuzu Stadium both on Sunday
* Cobbe Barracks v Mighty Wanderers at Balaka Stadium; Creck Sporting Club v FOMO FC at CIVO Stadium on Monday, July 8
Maravi Express
All is set for the FDH Bank Cup Round of 32 that kicks off this weekend with exciting 16 matches lined-up between the Independence Day on Saturday, July 6 to July 14 across the country.
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The teams comprise 16 from the TNM Super League and 16 from regional leagues to fight for slots in the last 16 to be played this month end.
Some of the notable fixtures include a thrilling match between Blue Eagles and Silver Strikers at Nankhaka Stadium and defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets up against Bangwe All Stars at Kamuzu Stadium, both on Sunday.
Mighty Wanderers will be on the road, taking on Cobbe Barracks at Balaka Stadium on Monday.
The full fixtures:
Saturday, July 6
Chitipa United v Raiply at Karonga United
Mitundu Baptist v Mighty Tigers at CIVO stadium
Ndirande Stars v Baka City at Mpira Stadium
Sunday, July 7
Blue Eagles v Silver Strikers at Nankhaka Stadium
Moyale Barracks v Chintheche United at Mzuzu Stadium
Karonga United v Mzuzu City Hammers at Karonga Stadium
Bangwe All Stars v Nyasa Big Bullets at Kamuzu Stadium
Monday July 8
Creck Sporting Club v FOMO FC at CIVO Stadium
Sporting FC v Lube Masters at Mzuzu Stadium
Nyambadwe United v Dedza Dynamos at Mpira Stadium
Cobbe Barracks v Mighty Wanderers at Balaka Stadium
Tuesday, July 9
Civil Service United v Chihame All Stars at CIVO Stadium
Wednesday, July 10
Soccer Rangers v MAFCO FC at Mpira Stadium
Kamuzu Barracks v Iponga FC at CIVO Stadium
Sunday, July 14
MMF Marine v Ntcheu Warriors at Mangochi Ground
Simbi FC v Santhe Admarc at Aubrey Dimba Stadium
Interestingly, defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets are on collision course with arch rivals Mighty Wanderers if both win their Round of 32 encounters.
Ahead of the draw, the top eight TNM Super League teams — as per the log table of Sunday, June 23 — namely: Silver Strikers, Mighty Wanderers, Kamuzu Barracks, Mzuzu City Hammers, Nyasa Big Bullets, Clerk Sporting Club, Moyale Barracks and Civil Service United — were seeded in the sense that they will not face each other.
There will also be an interesting encounter between two TNM Super League debutantes — Creck Sporting from Lilongwe against Mulanje-based FOMO FC as well as an all-Super League encounter between Karonga United and Mzuzu City Hammers, both from the North.
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The quarterfinals, whose draw will be done after the Round of 16 alongside the semifinals, on the dates to be announced, is as follows:
1. Ndirande Stars/Ekhaya FC/Baka City v Creck Sporting/FOMO FC
2. Blue Eagles/Silver Strikers v Simbi FC/Santhe Admarc
3. Mitundu Baptist/Mighty Tigers v Civil Service United/Chihame All Stars
4. Kamuzu Barracks/Iponga FC v Soccer Rangers/MAFCO FC
5. Karonga United/Mzuzu City Hammers v Nyambadwe United/Dedza Dynamos
6. Moyale Barracks/Chintheche v MMF Marine/Ntcheu Warrior
7. Cobbe Barracks/Mighty Wanderers v Bangwe All Stars/Nyasa Big Bullets
8. Sporting FC/Lube Masters v Chitipa United/Raiply FC
This year’s edition has a lot at stake as the sponsorship package was increased from K120 million to K150 million with the champions to receive the lion’s share of K35 million — up from the K30 million that the 2023 edition champions Nyasa Big Bullets received.
The inaugural tournament’s sponsorship package was at K90 million before being pushed to K120 million.
The main highlight for the 2023 season was Nyasa Big Bullets becoming the first team to defend the title after seeing off MAFCO FC 3-0 at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
The past edition also saw quite a number of players coming up — one of them is the Discovery of the Tournament from Santhe Admarc, goalkeeper, Zahaya Malithano.
Outstanding performances in the 2023 season had the champions Nyasa Big Bullets’ midfielder, Patrick Mwaungulu named Player of the Tournament while his teammate Hassan Kajoke won the Golden Boot award having scored four goals — with Mighty Wanderers goalkeeper William Thole winning the Golden Glove award.—Reporting by Fam.mw; editing by Maravi Express
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