The Challenge Cup Round of 64 and 32 draw will be held on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at the Mpira Village in Blantyre.
The Castel Challenge Cup is a National Knockout Cup organised by the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and sponsored by Castel Malawi.
Participation
About 934 teams;16 Super League teams, 102 Regional Leagues teams (36 from the South, 29 from the Centre and 37 from the North) and 816 District teams (344 from the South, 261 from the Centre and 209 from the North) registered for the 2023 Castel Challenge Cup
District Preliminary Phase
The district teams competed in their district respective district to determine a district champion to qualify for the Round of 64. A total of 31 district champions from all 3 regions will be pooled with other teams in the Round of 64, and the following are the qualified district teams:
Southern Region
Siyahamba Nselema (Machinga), Nsuwadzi (Mulanje), Nsulupi Gunners ( Thyolo), Mapira Stars (Mangochi), Gande FC (Chiradzulu) Umodzi FC (Nsanje), Ma Proffe (Balaka), BT Rural Champion, BT Urban Champion, Zomba Champion, Phalombe Champions, Chikwawa Champion, Mwanza Champion, Neno Champion.
Central Region
Nkangazaona FC ( Mchinji), Kamsonga United (Ntchisi), Mgwirizano ( Salima) Ergo ( Kasungu), ST Louis High School
( Dedza) Ntcheu Young Soccer ( Ntcheu), Welfare( Nkhotakota), Dowa Hammers ( Dowa), Gunners FC (Lilongwe Urban) and Chikuni FC (Lilongwe Rural)
Northern Region
Mwazisi United (Rumphi), Mzalangwe (Mzimba), Mafana Mafana (Chitipa), Zolozolo Rangers (Mzuzu), Eleven Champion (Nkhatabay), Hope FC (Karonga), Red Devils FC (Likoma)
Regional Leagues Preliminary Phase
The Regional League teams, both Premier League and Divisions One, played in a knockout regional championship in their respective regions, and 17 teams have qualified for the Round of 64 as follows:
Southern Region
White Eagles, MDF Marine, Soccer Rangers, Lipulumundu Stars, Fomo, and Zingwangwa United.
Centre Region
St Gabriel Medicals Zitha, Mtengenji Monaco, Mitundu Strikers, Leyman Panthers, and Chisomo Academy
Northern Region
Ekwendeni United, Kadona Stars, Iponga FC, Luviri FC, Raiply and Khuyu Cobras
Super League Teams
All the 16 Super League teams FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, Blue Eagles, Kamuzu Barracks ,Mighty Mukuru Wanderers, Silver Strikers, MAFCO, Moyale, Civil Services, Dedza Dynamos, Ekwendeni Hammers, Karonga United, Mighty Tigers FC, Red Lions, Chitipa United, Extreme FC and Bangwe All Stars will join the Competition at round of 64.
Round of 64 and 32 Draw Procedure
The Castle Challenge Cup Round of 64 and 32 will be played in a regional playoff format where the District Champions, Regional League Teams will join Super League teams in their respective regions to compete on a knockout basis to identify regional representatives to qualify for the Round of 16 as follows:
Southern Region – 6 teams
Central Region – 6 teams
Northern Region – 4 teams
Southern Region
Th draw will attract 25 teams comprising of:
14 Districts champions: Siyahamba Nselema (Machinga), Nsuwadzi (Mulanje), Nsulupi Gunners ( Thyolo), Mapira Stars (Mangochi), Gande FC (Chiradzulu) Umodzi FC (Nsanje), Ma Proffe (Balaka), BT Rural Champion, BT Urban Champion, Zomba Champion, Phalombe Champions, Chikwawa Champion, Mwanza Champion, Neno Champion.
Six regional league teams: White Eagles, MDF Marine, Soccer Rangers, Lipulumundu Stars, Fomo, and Zingwangwa United.
Five Super League teams: ( FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers, Mighty Tigers, Bangwe All Stars and Red Lions)
Playoff
The six Regional League teams and 14 District teams will be put in one pot where two teams will be drawn out to play in a playoff to determine one team to join the round of 64.
Round of 64
The Five Super League teams will be seeded and will not face each other. They will be put in one pot and drawn against the other 19 teams (Regional League and Districts teams) in the other pot. However, during the draw involving the seeded teams, there will be another draw to determine the home teams in the matches, while in the other draw, the home team will be determined by the team drawn first.
Round of 32
The winners of the 12 Round of 64 matches will face each other to determine the six teams to qualify for the Round of 16. The teams will be paired based on their match numbers with the winner of match number one facing winner of match number 12 in that order up to last match pairing winner match number 6 and winner match number 7.
Central Region
Th draw will attract 22 teams comprising of:
10 Districts champions: Nkangazaona FC ( Mchinji), Kamsonga United (Ntchisi), Mgwirizano ( Salima) Ergo ( Kasungu), ST Louis High School( Dedza) Ntcheu Young Soccer ( Ntcheu), Welfare( Nkhotakota), Dowa Hammers ( Dowa), Gunners FC (Lilongwe Urban) and Chikuni FC (Lilongwe Rural)
Five regional league teams: St Gabriel Medicals Zitha, Mtengenji Monaco, Mitundu Strikers, Leyman Panthers, and Chisomo Academy
Seven Super League teams: Silver Strikers, Civil Service, Kamuzu Barracks, MAFCO, Dedza Dynamos, Extreme and Dedza Dynamos)
Round of 64
The two top ranked teams as per the Super League log table of Monday 18th September 2022 ( Silver Strikers and Kamuzu Barracks) will be seeded from this phase. The remaining five Super League teams will be seeded and will not face each other. They will be put in one pot and drawn against the other 15 teams (Regional League and Districts teams) in the other pot. However, during the draw involving the seeded teams, there will be another draw to determine the home teams in the matches, while in the other draw, the home team will be determined by the team drawn first.
Round of 32
The winners of the 10 Round of 64 matches will join the two seeded teams in the round of 32 to determine the six teams to qualify for the National Round of 16. The two seeded teams 1 and 2 (Silver Strikers and Kamuzu Barracks) will face the winner of matches 9 and 10, respectively. The other eight teams will be paired based on their match numbers with the winner of match number one facing winner of match number 8 in that order up to last match pairing winner number 4 and winner match number 5.
Northern Region
Th draw will attract 17 teams comprising of:
7 Districts champions: Mwazisi United (Rumphi), Mzalangwe (Mzimba), Mafana Mafana(Chitipa), Zolozolo Rangers (Mzuzu), Eleven Champion (Nkhatabay), Hope FC (Karonga), Red Devils FC (Likoma)
Six regional league teams: Ekwendeni United, Kadona Stars, Iponga FC, Luviri FC, Raiply, and Khuyu Cobras
Four Super League teams: Moyale Barracks, Karonga United, Chitipa, and Ekwendeni Hammers.
Playoffs
The six Regional League teams and 7 District teams will be put in one pot where two teams will be drawn out to play in a playoff to determine one team to join the round of 64.
Round of 64
The Four Super League teams will be seeded and will not face each other. They will be put in one pot and drawn against the other 12 teams (Regional League and Districts teams) in the other pot. However, during the draw involving the seeded teams, there will be another draw to determine the home teams in the matches, while in the other draw, the home team will be determined by the team drawn first.
Round of 32
The winners of the 8 Round of 64 matches will face each to determine the four teams to qualify for the Round of 16. The teams will be paired based on their match numbers with the winner of match number one facing winner of match number 8 in that order up to last match pairing winner of match Number 4 and winner Match number 5.
Source: FAM
