SRFA lower leaguers exhibiting great spirit of resilience in Castel Challenge Cup
Southern Region Football Association (SRFA) has expressed great satisfaction with the progress of Ibongetse Castel Challenge Cup, saying teams in lower leagues are showing a great spirit of resilience being manifested in the results of games.
Speaking during the game in which Nsanje United defeated Changalume Barracks 7-6 in post-match penalties after the game ended 0-0 at Nsanje Youth Centre, SRFA chairperson, Raphael Humba said Division 1 teams are portraying zeal and determination.
“Today’s Ibongetse Cup fixture has given us a great game where we have seen Division 1 team knocking out a Premier Division side,” Humba said. “This means that Castel Challenge Cup is taking Malawi’s football to another level.”
According to the association, Nsanje United becomes the second team in Division 1 to knock out a team in Premier Division side and Humba said: “Castel Cup is living by its mission of developing football in the country.
“We are happy to see Nsanje United becoming a second lower side team to defeat a Premier Division team after Lunzu-based Soccer Rangers recently knocked out Ntaja United in the competition.”
Castel Malawi Limited’s Marketing Operations Manager, Lavern Chitakata said the Ibongetse Cup is transforming the game of football.
“The game here at Nsanje Youth centre attests to our core objective of taking football to every corner of the county,” she said. “After we launched the cup, we have been going in different places to show our impact and here we are in Nsanje District because the cup is for everyone.”
Castel Malawi expects to see teams and players in the lower leagues soaring so high to compete with Super League teams.
“With the style of play we have seen so far at regional and district level, we are assured that teams from the lower leagues will make it to the next round. As sponsors, we are looking forward to see these teams doing well and win against the big teams,” Chitakata said.
In post-match interview, Changalume Barracks’ assistant coach, William Chiwanda said they will now divert their focus to the Premier Division league and other cups.
“We played well and managed to dominate the game but failed to utilise the chances we created,” he said. “We have been knocked-out in post-match penalties that are unpredictable, therefore, as a team we will concentrate on the league after rectifying the mistakes.”
Kennedy Chonzi, coach for Nsanje United, was over the moon with the victory and attributed his side’s win to hardworking spirit and good preparations.
“As a team, we intensified our preparations knowing the importance of the game and the side we were meeting,” he said. “It was a great game because our opponents came prepared but on the pitch we tried the level of our best to win the game.”
Chonzi added that the game will help the team to correct some of the mistakes as they prepare to go on another assignment.
“We are going back to our drawing board to help our strikers to concentrate and start scoring goals because that is the major challenge,” he said.
Through the Castel Challenge Cup, the company is developing football in the country using a bottom-up approach which is integral in the football world.
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