The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), sponsors of TNM Super League champions Silver Strikers, has told the club to assemble a strong squad to be a dominant force on all fronts.
RBM Governor MacDonald Mafuta Mwale made the remarks in Lilongwe during the club’s gala night awards ceremony on Saturday.
Mwale said the team should not be passengers in the Caf Champions League but be there to compete.
“We believe that Silver is a team that has everything. As such, it has no excuse for not performing well in all competitions.
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“Last year, our board approved that the team should take part in the Caf Champions League. As such, we expect them to compete,” Mwale said.
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Mwale said the Central Bank was also ready to bankroll the team to beef up the squad to withstand heat in all competitions.
“We have challenged them to recruit good players as they plan to take part in the Caf Champions League. We want them to sign the best cream of players, both foreign and local. We want to see the team mounting a serious challenge in all competitions,” he said.
In addition, Mwale challenged the club to defend the TNM Super League title.
“We do not want a situation when we stayed for 11 years without winning the league title. It might be easy to win the title but very difficult to defend. As such, we believe that they will be ready for the big task,” he said.
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Silver Vice Board Chairperson George Chiusiwa attributed the team’s success last season to “a huge investment’ from the bank.
“We are geared to achieve more and we want to pay back to the bank for the trust [placed in us]. The bank has always supported the team and, as such, players are motivated,” Chiusiwa said.
On his part, Silver Coach Peter Mgangira said he was optimistic that the team would build on last season’s success.
“There is belief in the squad that everything is possible after what we achieved last season. We have a group of youngsters who are hungry for success,” Mgangira, who replaced Peter Mponda after the latter was appointed FCB Nyasa Big Bullets coach, said.
Meanwhile, Silver have awarded outstanding individuals.
Midfielder Chimwemwe Idana was named Player of the Season whereas George Chikooka was named goalkeeper of the season.
MacDonald Lameck and Uchizi Vunga won the best defender and midfielder award, respectively.
Chinsinsi Maonga won the most improved player award whereas Binwell Katinji was named the best striker.
In a related development, Chikondi Gondwe was named Player of the Season in the ladies’ category.
She also won the top goal-scorer award.
Lasuli Jali and Feston Paul won the Reserve Team Player of the Season and Under-20 Player of the Season accolade, respectively.
