Castel Malawi has set the tone for Saturday’s Ibongetse Castel Challenge Cup final between Mighty Mukuru Wanderers and Mzuzu City Hammers by dishing out tickets and holding some activations.
Hammers and Wanderers are set to clash at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
The match will see the winner walking away with the trophy and K55 million in prize money, with the runners-up pocketing K25 million.
Castel Malawi’s Head of Corporate Marketing and Communication, Lavern Chitakata, said they would hold activations to drum up support for the showdown.
“We have Fada Moti and Pisky performing on Saturday, the day of the match. But before that, we will be at Lower Biwi and Area 25 Nsungwi on Friday [today] where we will give away many prizes and tickets to the match,” Chitakata said.
She said this year’s cup has been thrilling with a lot of upsets underlining the competition’s core objective.
“We had teams like Hilltop from the regional leagues making it to the round-of-16 and Premier Division teams like Panthers booting out four Super League teams. Another Premier Division side, MMF Marine, dared [2023 champions] FCB Nyasa Big Bullets in the quarterfinals.
“To us, this shows the seriousness that stakeholders are attaching to this great competition. Our aim was to unearth talent and elevate the football in Malawi. With the result of the semifinal matches that was so unexpected, it shows you that the level of football is going way up and the fight for better things is getting stronger,” she said.
Chitakata said Castel Malawi increased sponsorship for this year’s competition to address other shortcomings which were observed from the previous year.
“We had increased the funds because we saw a few gaps in officiation, especially from district and regional levels. We must say we have seen a great improvement which made a lot of teams participate comfortably,” she said.
Chitakata said hosting Castel Cup matches in venues such as Mangochi, Balaka, Dedza and Karonga stadiums gave local communities the chance to engage with elite teams, hence motivating young players in rural areas.
Despite registering success in the number of teams competing in the 2024 edition, Castel Malawi hopes that more teams would register for next year’s competition.
“We want to see more teams registering in the cup next year. Our wish is to increase the number of district venues for our matches. We are about to activate this and help in the growth of the game. We had over 80 game activations around the country this season with great results,” Chitakata said.
Both Wanderers and Hammers are cautious ahead of the final as the stakes are high.
Hammers Patron Gift Mkandawire, a former Wanderers chairperson, said his charges are geared for the final.
“We do not have anything special as we already struggle financially. However, we are a team motivated by the money at stake. The only money we can get to better the team is the cash at hand. That’s the motivation. We need the money more than my Wanderers,” he said.
Hammers stunned Bullets in the semifinal winning 4-1 on post-match penalties.
Wanderers Chief Executive Officer Panganeni Ndovi said the final was a definitive match towards their objective of making ‘Mighty, Mighty Again.’
“It defines our ambition as a club to move towards dominance in the country. It will be one of the toughest games we have played this season and it is a game the boys are motivated to play. It shows the true character of them being champions and dominant figures in the country,” Ndovi said.
Bullets won the cup last year after beating Silver Strikers 4-2 on post-match penalties after a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time.
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