Masters fear low patronage
Masters Security FC have, through Football Association of Malawi (Fam), successfully requested Confederation of African Football (Caf) that the Lilongwe side should play their home game first before Be Forward Wanderers take their turn in the continental assignments.
Masters are afraid of poor patronage in the event that Wanderers play first their home
Champions League preliminary round second-leg game and lose, the Lilongwe team’s
General Secretary, Zachariah Nyirenda, confirmed.
“We felt that if they play ahead of us and lose, people will be frustrated and shun our game. Afterall, people are not giving us a chance,” Nyirenda said.
In view of this, Masters will host Angola’s Atletico Petroleous de Luanda on February 20 in the Caf Confederation Cup preliminary round second–leg then Wanderers entertain AS Vita of the Democratic Republic of Congo the following day in the reverse fixture.
Both games are scheduled for Bingu National Stadium whereas first legs will take place on February 10 at 11 de Novembro in Angola for Masters whereas Wanderers play the following day at Omnisports Stade des Martys in Kinshasa.
Caf gave Masters and Wanderers the option of choosing any of three dates from February 20 to 22 for their respective home games at Lilongwe.
Masters qualified for participation in the Confederation Cup after reaching the Fisd Challenge Cup semi-finals, taking advantage of the fact that eventual winners, Kamuzu Barracks, and second-placed Moyale Barracks were not interested in joining the continental tournament.
People are sceptical of Masters’ readiness for the international assignments as they barely survived Super League relegation after amassing a paltry 31 points last season.
Nyirenda said Masters will only come up with gate charges for the home game after the outcome of the away match.
Football Association of Malawi acting Competitions Manager, Casper Jangale, and
Wanderers General Secretary, Mike Butao, on Tuesday confirmed Masters’ request to Caf.
“Our away game is on February 11 and the home game is on February 21. The dates for the home game were given to us by Fam. We are yet as a club to meet and agree on the charges and all other issues regarding the home game. We will do that in due course. Our focus right now is on the away game,” Butao said.
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