Thumbs Up League kicks off with 10 matches
The 2023 Southern Region Football Association (SRFA) League Thumbs Up Premier Division kicks off with 10 matches on the menu between tomorrow and Monday.
The launching ceremony is scheduled for Mwanza Community Centre Ground where the main event will be a Mwanza derby between Mwanza United and Mwanza Stars in Group A of the league.
This will be the only match for the day, with six lined up for Sunday while three games are scheduled for Monday.
SRFA Chairperson Raphael Humba said they have completed all arrangements for the launching ceremony.
“All our attention is now on the launching ceremony. That is why there is no other game on the launch day. We want all our attention to go towards the launching ceremony. This will be a great event, which should not get divided attention.
“We have lined up activities before the match and we want football lovers in Mwanza to come out in their large numbers. We have honoured them because, for the first time in the history of the game, they have two Premier Division teams,” Humba said.
Champions FCB Nyasa Bullets Reserve will begin defence of their title on Monday against Zomba Airbase at Mpira Stadium in Blantyre.
The champions’ coach Enos Chatama said their ambition is not to retain the title.
“First, we do not have to be looking at defending the title. We have to rebuild. I do not want to give pressure to the players. They just need to play games and see where they can finish at the end of the season.
“Our ambition is not to win the league. We have been winning it for quite so long and, this time around, we just have to be building the players and have a good team so that we see what happens. I will take players who can suit the way we want them to play,” Chatama told Bullets’ website.
The new season’s champion will pocket K5 million, a big improvement from last season’s K2.5 million.
This follows Rab Processors Limited’s hiking of sponsorship from K15 million to K19 million.
