Malawi representatives Silver Strikers have said they are happy with the progress of their preparations for Saturday’s CAF Champions League second round first leg against Young Africans Sports Club (Yanga SC) of Tanzania.
The reigning TNM Super League champions will host Yanga at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
In an interview yesterday, the Bankers head coach Etson Kadenge Mwafulirwa said their preparations include analysing the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents.
“We are living no stone unturned and we have stepped up the tempo knowing that it is not going to be an easy match because we will be up against a formidable side which is a motivation on its own for us to give our all,” he said.
“We have seen some footage of their matches and we have a glimpse of what to expect without going into details.”
The coach said he is happy with the players’ attitude in the countdown to the match.
“They are determined, hungry and energetic. Their attitude has been encouraging,” he said.
On impact the absence of three key players, goalkeeper George Chikooka and defenders Maxwell Paipi and McDonald Lameck, who were on national duty with the Flames, may have on their preparations, Mwafulirwa said: “To an extent, yes, because when you are preparing for such a crucial match, you expect to have all your arsenal, but it is not big deal. After all, we expect them to join us later today [yesterday].”
The club’s chief executive officer Patrick Chimimba said the team went into camp on Friday as they stepped up preparations for the match.
He also said entry tickets for the match hit the market on Tuesday “and intial sales are looking very good”.
An advance standard ticket is fetching K5 000 while on match day, it will be K3 000 more. A VIP ticket is selling at K15 000 and on match day it will cost K25 000. Corporate box is at K300 000.
Tickets are available in the following outlets: Area 18 Puma, Puma Kanengo, Likuni Engen, Area 23, Kawale Engen, Kafoteka, Pa Tank Total, Puma Bwandilo , Panda Area 49, and Six Miles service stations in Lilongwe.
They are also being sold at Acres Gateway Mall, Mpira M’mudzi Mwathu secretariat at Bingu National Stadium and, Bypass (Zankutu).
Meanwhile, Yanga have received a boost following the return of 13 players from national duties with their different national teams.
They include Tanzania internationals Bakari Mwamnyeto, Dickson Job, Israel Mwenda, Aziz Andabwire, Ibrahim Abdullah and Often Chikola.
Others are Pacome Zouzoua of Ivory Coast, Djigui Diama and Lassine Kouma of Mali, Calestine Ekua of Chad, Moussa Balla Konte of Guinea, Zimbabwe’s Prince Dube and Kenya’s Duke Abuya.
