Sponsors caution teams against violence
Two teams are expected to move forward when the Standard Bank Knockout Trophy rolls into life this afternoon with two potentially explosive preliminary round encounters.
But Standard Bank marketing manager Chimwemwe Matonga has warned that the bank will not hesitate to pull out sponsorship should there be acts of violence.
“Should there be any pockets of violence, we will make an announcement that will negatively affect the game of football,” said Matonga.
Kamuzu Barracks (KB) have a score to settle when they take on Mafco at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe as it was Mafco who ended their home ground fairy-tale run with a 4-2 thumping at Dedza Stadium a fortnight ago in a Super League match.
At Mzuzu Stadium, Moyale will also be out to avenge the 1-0 defeat they suffered at the hands of Epac FC in a first-round Super League match.
KB team manager Francis Shaba yesterday said they have recovered from the recent loss to their ‘brothers-in-arms’ and will be out to settle the scores.
“This will be a different game altogether and we are geared for the match. We lost to Mafco recently because there was an element of excitement after a remarkable run that saw us with the Carlsberg Cup and finishing the first-round of the league at the top.
“I am also optimistic that fans will watch an exciting game of football between two quality sides. We know how Mafco play and we are prepared for them,” said Shaba.
He dismissed suggestions that KB have lost the grip they had in the first-round.
KB had a miserable outing to the commercial city [Blantyre] at the weekend where they collected a point out of a possible six, after going down 2-1 to Big Bullets and drawing 2-2 with Evirom.
As at 10am yesterday, KB had not yet left Blantyre for the capital, but Shaba said that will not affect their preparations for this afternoon’s encounter.
Mafco coach Sterio Gondwe said they are looking forward to continuing from where they stopped in the previous meeting with Kamuzu Barracks.
“We are aware that our friends will come out with all their guns blazing, but we know how to approach the game,” said Gondwe.
Epac spokesperson Roy Mdechi said they are looking forward to rewarding the fans who voted for their participation in the preliminaries of the tournament.
“We know how Moyale plays and we are not moved playing at their backyard,” said Mdechi.
Out of the four teams taking part in the preliminaries, only Moyale have won the tournament before.
Meanwhile, the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has confirmed the line-up for quarter-final fixtures scheduled for this weekend as follows:-
Saturday: Civo United vs Big Bullets @ Civo Stadium, Blantyre United vs Silver Strikers @ Kalulu Stadium in Nchalo, Chikhwawa.
Sunday: Winners between Mafco and KB will line up against winners in the match between Moyale and Epac at Civo Stadium; Red Lions vs Mighty Wanderers @ Balaka.
