Presidential Cup kicks off

Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has announced that the 2017 Presidential Cup will kick off on March 26 under a new format focusing on football development.

The developmental areas include under-17, district championships, capacity development programme, beach soccer and women’s football, according to a press release from the association’s Competitions Manager, Gomezgani Zakazaka.

The under-17 will target nine districts under National Youth Football Association catchment area namely Karonga, Mzuzu, Nkhata Bay, Lilongwe, Mchinji, Dedza, Blantyre, Mangochi and Zomba.

Some 10 teams will be registered per district and the competition will be played between April and October.

“The Presidential District Championship will be a tournament for each of the 29 districts and it will end at the district level. It will be played on a round robin format in zones and knockout at district finals,” reads part of the statement.

“The aim is to establish a reliable competitive football tournament in each district with the district championship leading to the formation of a district select to participate in the Fisd Challenge Cup. Each district is expected to register at least 64 teams with each team paying K10, 000 as registration fees.”

The women’s football competition will start in 15 districts across the country with the district champions joining seeded teams for the regional championship.

The regional champions will square it in the national championship, playing on a knockout basis between April and June 2017.

Teams in the Presidential Beach Soccer Cup will compete on a knockout basis in four zones namely Karonga, Chintheche, Salima and Mangochi to identify participants of the Fam Cup.

Two top teams in each zone will make it to the national competition to be played later this year.

The Presidential Capacity Developmental Programme will focus on training for administrators, match officials and coaches at developmental levels.

Until last year, Super League teams were involved in the cup with Nyasa Big Bullets as the last winner after they defeated Moyale Barracks at Civo Stadium. However, the government’s failure to increase the sponsorship package made participation in the cup an expensive venture for the Super League clubs.