Possible Blantyre Derby in FDH Bank Cup as FAM conducts R32, R16 draws

There will be a possible Blantyre Derby in the fourth edition of the FDH Bank Cup following the Round of 32 and 16 draws that were conducted by the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and the FDH Bank Plc on Tuesday morning at Mpira Palace in Blantyre.

The draw unveiled three captivating all Super League ties with a possible Blantyre Derby between the defending champions FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and their cross-town rivals, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers in the Round of 16.

A total of 32 teams, 16 from the Super League and the other 16 from regional leagues will compete for a spot in the round of 16 in this highly anticipated tournament.

Top eight Super League teams namely Silver Strikers, Wanderers, Kamuzu Barracks, Mzuzu City Hammers, Bullets, Creck Sporting Club, Moyale Barracks, and Civil Service United were seeded to avoid facing each other at this stage of the completion.

The 2021 winners, Silver Strikers, were drawn against Blue Eagles while Bullets, the defending champions, will face Bangwe All Stars away from home, with Wanderers facing Cobbe Barracks away from home.

In other Super League ties, Creck will host FOMO while Karonga United will welcome Mzuzu City Hammers.

There will be a Central Region Derby between Simbi FC from Mchinji and Santhe Admarc from Kasungu.

Speaking after the draw, FAM’s Director of Competitions, Gomezgani Zakazaka said the association is very excited with how the preliminary draw was conducted to come up with 16 teams that were included in the national draw alongside the Super League teams.

“We are excited with how we have progressed from the preliminary level where we have come up with the 16 regional league teams to join the 16 Super League teams at the national level.

“The draw is exciting as we have three matches involving Super League teams and five matches involving regional league teams.

“It’s always a dream to see surprises in this prestigious knockout competition and just like the previous editions in which Bullets Reserves reached the final and Santhe Admarc reached the last eight, we are looking forward to another surprise package in the fourth edition,” he said.

On the commencement of the matches, Zakazaka said the body will be releasing fixtures before the end of this week.

“We will kick off the competition next month, but we will be able to release the fixtures and dates before the end of this week,” he concluded.

On his part, the bank’s Senior Marketing Manager, Ronald Chimchere, said he is looking forward to yet another exciting season in the competition.

“This is another exciting moment. We have seen very exciting fixtures in the Round of 32 and a possible Blantyre Derby in the Round of 16. This tells us that we will have another entertaining season ahead.

“As a bank, we also focus much on motivating regional teams, and that’s why we always equip them to compete at the national level. We know it is a very competitive cup with surprises, and we are looking forward to seeing a surprise package of this edition,” he said.

Bullets are the most successful team in the competition after they won it twice in a row, winning it in 2022 before defending the cup in the 2023 season.

The draw in full:

1. Blue Eagles vs. Silver Strikers

2. Civil Service United vs. Chihame All Stars

3. Kamuzu Barracks vs Iponga FC

4. Creck Sporting Club vs. FOMO Fc

5. Bangwe All Stars vs. FCB Nyasa Big Bullets

6. Cobbe Barracks vs. Mighty Mukuru Wanderers

7. Moyale Barracks vs. Chintheche United

8. Karonga United vs. Mzuzu City Hammers

9. Soccer Rangers vs. Mafco FC

10. Ndirande Stars/Ekhaya FC vs. Baka City

11. Sporting FC vs. Lube Masters