Africa-Press – Malawi. One of the country’s top network providing companies Airtel Malawi on Thursday November 3, unveiled its 2022 Airtel Top 8 Cup. The unveiling ceremony of the competition which is fifth in number and kicks off this weekend at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre took place at Sunbird Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre.
Speaking at the ceremony, Airtel Malawi Managing Director Charles Kamoto told members of the press that the company has maintained the ‘ Zamadolo’ theme of the competition which was also used last year.
Kamoto cleared out that the theme has been maintained because it fits well with the caliber of the competition which only features top eight teams. He said; “This season, we are not changing the theme of our competition because it is very massive and it fits well with the type of competition which is only participated by top eight teams.
“Last season, we experienced exciting football where we saw 28 goals scored, beating the previous season’s 12 goals in the same eleven matches, so it really lived up to its billing and we expect the same this year.”
He added: “We have seen standard of play going up, we asked for goals, we saw goals coming, we saw players identified in our cup participating for the Flames at AFCON this year and the team did exceptionally well so we are happy that our competition is adding value to the beautiful game and we are optimistic that this will continue.”
Football Association of Malawi ( FAM) Vice President Jabbar Alide, who is also competition’s Chairperson, said he is expecting this year’s competition to surpass what was achieved last year.
“Our expectations this year are very high. Last year, ‘Zamadolo’ edition brought us best top 8 ever. This year, we look to raise the bar further in terms of broadcasting, fan engagement and we think we will exceed what we achieved last year,” he explained.
He disclosed that the competition this year will be much easier to access as it will be streamed live on FIFA plus portal. “We are very happy that this year’s Airtel Top competition will now be easily accessed as it will be streamed on FIFA Plus Portal.
“It is a very big opportunity for us to livestream our matches on the Portal all as we will expose the matches all over for the people who are interested in scouting and they will also be able to see how passionate our fans are.
For Airtel, we are exposing the brand to the world and for FAM, how organized we are as an association. This is beneficial across the board. “We always aim to improve on how we do things and we are lucky we have a sponsor who is keen to see us improve.
“We will continue to strive for more success and we always look for a room to improve to make the tournament bigger and better,” he disclosed
On his part, FAM President Walter Nyamilandu Manda thanked the competition’s fans for their cooperation throughout the last edition and urged them to behave the same this so as to safeguard the sponsorship.
“The fans have been amazing, the behavior exceptional, we have not had cases of hooliganism and we believe this behavior will continue.
“We want to end year with a bang and the best we can do is to safeguard the sponsors. We will have winners and losers, let’s accept results and promote fair play,” urged Manda.
Format of the competition
A total of 11 Matches will be played through the competition and the quarterfinals will be played in a home and away basis where goal aggregate and away goal rules shall apply while the semifinals and final matches will be played in a single fixture.
Just like the previous season, there was no any draw conducted because position one team was automatically paired against the eighth placed team, second placed team playing the seventh team, third against sixth and fourth against fifth.
The opening match will see defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets hosting Karonga United in the Quarterfinal First leg at the Kamuzu Stadium. On Sunday, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers will host Mafco at the same venue. Next week Silver will play Kamuzu Barracks at a venue yet to be announced by FAM while Dedza Dynamos will host Blue Eagles. The teams will meet in the return leg in two-weeks time. The winner of the competition will receive MK17 million.
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