The country’s football giants are assured of not crossing paths in the inaugural Ibongetse Castel Challenge Cup as the competition’s round-of-64 draw has kept them apart.
The draw took place at Football Association of Malawi (Fam)’s Mpira Village in Blantyre Wednesday.
It saw 17 teams from regional leagues and 31 others from districts being drawn alongside 16 TNM Super League sides.
Fam Vice President Jabbar Alide, who also chairs the association’s Competitions Committee, said the cup has already unearthed raw talent from the districts.
“There has been stiff competition from the districts and regional level where patronage was also very high. We saw raw talent which will now feature against Super League sides. We are therefore very happy to have Castel sponsoring this cup,” Alide said.
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Castel Malawi Head of Corporate Marketing and Communication Lavern Chitakata said the company is happy to be part of football development from the grassroots.
“We have watched over 15 district games and saw the high level of competition among young players. Time has now come for the raw talent to be seen at a different level. We believe showcasing their skills against the Super League sides will help the young players to further their talent.
“As a company, we are very happy with the manner in which the tournament has been administered both at district and regional levels. We promise more fun during the games. This is part of what we stand for,” Chitakata said.
The K320 million cup had 934 teams that played at different levels of the competition across the country.
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The ultimate winner of the cup will go home with K50 million while the runner-up is set to pocket K25 million.
There will also be K10 million each for semi-finalists whereas quarter-finalists will get K5 million apiece.
At district level, champions will receive K750,000 with the regional champions getting K1 million.
The tournament kicked off on July 22 and round-of-64 matches will kick off next week.
Matches involving Super League teams are as follows:
Eleven Champions vs Chitipa United
Ekwendeni United vs Karonga United
Moyale Barracks vs Mafanamafana
Ekwendeni Hammers vs Kadona Stars
Civil Service United vs Mgwirizano
Dedza Dynamos vs St Louis High School
Mafco vs Mtengenji Monaco
Welfare vs Extreme
Leyman Pathers vs Blue Eagles
Mighty Tigers vs Mapulofe
FCB Nyasa Big Bullets vs Lipulumundu Stars
Bangwe All Stars vs Suwadzi
Mighty Mukuru Wanderers vs Blantyre Rural Champion
Silver Strikers and Kamuzu Barracks were seeded due to their positions in the TNM Super League as of Monday.
Southern and Central regions will have six teams each qualifying for the round-of-16, with four from the North.
