Silver Strikers and Mighty Wanderers will know their Confederation of African Football (CAF) club tournaments’ preliminary round opponents on August 12 when CAF is expected to conduct the draws in Tanzania.
The Bankers, who are the reigning TNM Super League champions, will participate in the CAF Champions League while the Nomads will compete in the CAF Confederation Cup.
The preliminary first legs of the elite African club tournaments are set for between September 19 and 21 while the second legs are earmarked for October 24 to 26.
Both teams said in separate interviews yesterday that they are ready to compete in the continent’s elite tournaments.
Silver board chairperson George Kaudza Masina, whose side lies third on the log table in the TNM Super League with 23 points from 12 matches, said: “We are not looking at just participating, we want to compete.
“We believe we are ready technically, in terms of having the necessary players and technical staff. Administratively, we are also on course as we are fulfilling the tournament’s requirements through FAM [Football Association of Malawi].”
The Reserve Bank of Malawi-sponsored outfit is yet to announce who will take charge of the team as its head coach Peter Mgangira does not possess the required CAF A licence, which is the minimum qualification.
But sources have confided in The Nation that the club plans to rope in their former assistant coach Etson Kadenge Mwafulirwa on a short-term deal.
However, Kaudza Masina declined to comment on the issue.
On the other hand, Wanderers chief executive officer Panganeni Ndovi also said their preparations are on course.
He said: “We are just waiting for the draw, otherwise , we believe we are ready.
“The performance of the team domestically gives us confidence that we are ready and hopefully, it will translate on the international stage.
“We do not want just to participate, we want to compete and reach as far as we can go.”
The Nomads boast of being the only side yet to taste defeat in the flagship league. They are at the pinnacle of the log table with 33 points from 13 matches.
Ndovi also said they are satisfied with their squad and there are no plans to beef it up.
“Unless something happens, at the moment, there are no plans to make additions. We are just finalising out final squad for the preliminaries,” he said.
The first player registration period for the preliminary rounds runs from August 1 to August 31.
FCB Nyasa Bullets are the only Malawian side that has been frequently participating in the CAF Champions League in the recent past, but out of five attempts, they have only made it past the preliminaries once.
Bullets are also the only Malawian club to have qualified for the group stages of a continental showpiece when they reached the last eight of the Champions League in 2004 when they were sponsored by former president Bakili Muluzi.
Football analyst Parry Chinyama said having watched both Wanderers and Siver this season, he is sceptical about their preparedness for the CAF tournaments.
He said: “Wanderers need to work on their defence and probably rope in a defending midfielder.
“They also lack communication on the field of play. They play as if there is no leader and usually concede towards the last 10 minutes.
“Their technical team needs to make sound judgements when dealing with fielding and substitutions.”
As for Silver, Chinyama said they need to work on the frontline.
“It’s not as clinical which is crucial at continental level. They also have to work on coordination and playing as a team. They also need a very good ball player,” he said.
