Genetrix men’s and women’s teams spared the country’s blemishes when they finished fourth in their respective categories of the 34th men’s and 25th women’s editions of Africa Cup for Club Champions (ACCC).
The championship, which drew teams from Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda and Malawi, ended Sunday at the National Hockey Stadium in Blantyre.
In the men’s section, Sharkia of Egypt beat Kenya’s Western Jaguars to retain the accolade while Kampala of Uganda settled for bronze after beating Genetrix 3-1.
Two Malawian sides Parachute Battalion and Scorpions finished on position five and six, respectively.
Police Machine of Nigeria did not participate after they were assigned other duties in their country.
However, controversy marred the ladies’ category as Lakers of Kenya were disqualified for fielding ineligible players.
Lakers were due to take on eventual women’s champions Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Following the disqualification of Lakers, their compatriots Blazers were upgraded to meet GRA in the final but it never took place as Lakers protested vehemently.
This forced the organisers to use a ranking table to determine winners which saw GRA claiming the top position after accumulating more points and they were followed by Blazers.
In a third-place battle, Genetrix lost 10-0 to Delta Queens of Nigeria.
Just as in the men’s section, the last positions were filled by two local sides, with Scorpions settling for fifth while Capital Braves ended on sixth.
Meanwhile, Genetrix Coach Geoffrey Biya has said they were tactically good but lacked endurance.
“We matched our counterparts in most departments but we gave away the games towards the end because we were losing steam,” Biya said.