FCB Nyasa Bullets Reserve expect stiff competition
Southern Region Thumbs Up Football League Premier Division champions FCB Nyasa Bullets Reserve expect a tough campaign in the new season after losing their key players to TNM Super League sides.
The junior People’s Team was drawn in Group B of the division alongside Mighty Mukuru Wanderers Reserve, MDF Marine, The Boyz, Mighty Tigers Reserves, Fomo, Ntopwa, Changalume Barracks, Zomba Airbase, Mangochi United and Ntaja United.
They will go into the new season without six of their top players who were promoted to the main team and loaned out to Bangwe All Stars and Ekwendeni Hammers to gain experience.
Chatama described the draw as open and fair.
“We cannot choose ourselves as opponents; we just need to be ready for the new challenge. I think it is a tough but exciting draw for us. We are facing familiar opponents and it will be interesting to see how we will perform this time around.
“This has been the trend for the Reserve side all these years. We have been losing reliable players year in, year out. We do not need to play under pressure but we just have to build a good team for next season,” he told nyasabigbullets.com.
Chatama said he believes that as the season progresses, his new charges would cope with the demands of competing in the second-tier.
“They will be improving day-by-day and game-after-game. I think that’s a good process for the players to improve and become better in the future. Players differ in one way or the other. Football goes with generations and time. The likes of the Salimas did their part and they went. We still need other players to come in and fill the shoes.
“I do not think we have to compare the new boys with those who have left. They are at a different level altogether. As time goes, I believe we will build a good team. Players come and go and you still have to build a team for the future. That is when you know that you are doing your job well and that you can interact with the kids and build them up for future success,” Bullets’ website quotes him as saying.
Southern Region Football Association Chairperson Raphael Humba said the season will have 22 teams in the Premier Division and another 22 in Division One.
“We got what we wanted and we are happy. There are several new teams that registered while others are making a comeback after missing out for several seasons. We wholeheartedly welcome them back to the country’s oldest league,” Humba said.
The league’s launching ceremony is scheduled for Mwanza Community Centre Ground on April 22.
