Blue Eagles players and technical panel members have all the reasons to smile after Malawi Police Service management announced that they will share the total prize money of the 2024 FDH Bank Cup.
Inspector General (IG) of Police Merlyne Yolamu made the announcement after players presented the trophy to her at National Police Headquarters in Lilongwe yesterday.
Yolamu said management decided to reward the players and technical panel to motivate them.
“We are excited and also optimistic that the future is bright. We want to motivate the players. We know they have encountered a lot of problems on their way to success.
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“In life, after you perform highly, sometimes you need to sit back and celebrate and also to reflect on how you can move forward and become a dominant force in domestic football,” Yolamu said.
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Eagles have a squad of 35 players plus seven members of the technical panel.
Meanwhile, Yolamu, who watched the cup final at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday, said the team’s gate revenue share from the FDH Bank Cup final would be channelled towards operations of the club.
Eagles pocketed K15.8 million as part of their 25 percent cut from gate revenue.
This means the team got K50.8 million from the FDH Bank Cup final after carting home the K35 million prize money.
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In total, the final grossed K87.2 million from gate revenue.
In the meantime, Yolamu has promised to improve the welfare of players; that is, both police officers and civilians.
“There are procedures which need to be followed in line with professionalism. Management will look into their applications but be rest assured that we will support the players,” Yolamu said.
She also urged players and technical panel members to exercise discipline on and off the pitch.
The victory over Bullets means Eagles ended their five-year trophy drought.
On top of that, they maintained their unbeaten record in cup finals against Bullets in six years, having also beaten the People’s Team 1-0 in the Airtel Top 8 cup final at the same venue.
Eagles captain Schumacher Kuwali, who had a grand match, hailed the IG for the gesture.
“We are really motivated by what the IG has done to us. We will not sit on our laurels. We want to return to the TNM Super League because we belong there,” Kuwali said.
Meanwhile, Central Region Football Association General Secretary Antonio Manda has said Eagles’ exploits in the FDH Bank Cup serve as testimony that the league has talented players.
“We are excited with Eagles’ achievements. It was not by fluke that they showed their quality. We hope this will serve as a source of motivation to other teams in the region to fight for national trophies,” Manda said.
Eagles made history as the first non-Super League side to win the FDH Bank Cup since its inception in 2021.
They beat FCB Nyasa Big Bullets 3-2 on post-match penalties to claim glory.
The match ended goal-less in regulation time.
The Area 30-based club won the competition with five clean sheets.
Along the way, they defeated four Super League teams namely Silver Strikers, Baka City, Karonga United and Bullets.
