Silver Strikers started their defence of the Airtel Top 8 Cup with a 1-nil win against TN Stars at Chitowe Stadium on Saturday
Patrick Macheso scored the only goal of the first leg match just 11 minutes into the game, to give the central bankers hopes of winning the cup for the third time.
After the game Silver’s Zabron Kalima was voted man of the match and went home with K50,000 plus a trophy from Airtel.
Silver, who recently won the inaugural FDH Cup, is the only team in the competition that have won the Airtel Top 8 Cup twice.
The Lilongwe giants became the first team to win the cup in 2017 after beating Mighty Wanderers 10-9 on post match penalties before winning it again in 2019 after defeating Karonga United 1-0
Apart from Silver, Blue Eagles is another side that has so far won the Top 8 cup since its inception. The Eagles won the cup in 2018 after beating Nyasa Big Bullets courtesy of Stuart Mbunge’s lone goal.
The champion of this year’s competition will walk away with K17 million whereas the runner-up will get K5 million
The country’s most celebrated gospel group the Mighty Ndirande Anglican Voices will this Sunday storm Robin’s Park in Blantyre to celebrate the group’s 20 years of existence.
According to the group’s music director, Dennis Kalimbe, the Celebration comes as one way of thanking God for seeing the group up to this far.
“Though with afew challenges, our musical journey has been really great and we have achieved a lot as a group. For that we give thanks to the Lord . In the twenty years, we were able to travel to different places across the country and beyond. We have been to the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and we have sung before heads of state in Malawi even in front of the Queen Elizabeth in UK,” said Kalimbe.
Ndirande Anglican Voices
Kalimbe further said that part of the proceeds from Sunday’s show will be donated to Ndirande Health Centre, which he said has served a lot of people including the group’s members for several years.
Some of the acts set to spice up Sunday’s show include Great Angels Choir, Thocco Katimba, Favoured Martha and King James Phiri
Ndirande Anglican Voices has so far produced six successful albums namely _Ndasaina, Tiyeni Tonse, Mulungu Amatikondera, Ndasamba Mmanja, Zimandikwanira_ and _Namondwe Tonthola._
The group is also set to release its seventh album titled _Usalisinthe Dzina ._
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) on Saturday failed to televise an Airtel Top-8 match involving Silver Strikers and TN Stars on its Mpira TV following the decision by the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) to obtain an injunction restricting FAM’s host content producers, Mibawa Television, from producing football matches in the country.
The injunction forced Mibawa Television crew to vacate Chitowe Stadium, where the match took place, soon after mounting their equipment.
Meanwhile FAM has also announced that it will not be able to broadcast live tomorrow’s match between Civil Service FC and Karonga United .
On Saturday, MBC through lawyer David Kanyenda, obtained an injunction blocking Mibawa Television to be Mpira TV’s football content producer through Zuku TV or any other media platform.
MBC Director General George Kasakula
Last week, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) signed an agreement with Zuku TV to beam the football matches in the country with Mibawa Television as its content providers.
This did not go down well with the state broadcaster who claimed that they were already given the rights to be producing soccer matches on behalf of Mpira TV and that Mibawa television did not bid for the rights.
MBC director general George Kasakula claims that the move by the football association was suspicious as MBC won the bid to become host content providers for Mpira TV and that discussions were in progress.
Meanwhile FAM through a press statement has assured football followers that they are working hard to resolve the matter.
“We are working hard to make sure that we resolve this as soon as possible therefore not denying millions of fans oneness, excitement and entertainment and not denying the teams the much needed commercialisation and finally not denying our sponsors the much needed value – all these being the key ingredients of football,” reads the statement in part.
Earlier in the week, Minister of Youth and Sports Ulemu Msungama called for a stakeholders meeting to resolve misunderstandings between Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and Football Association of Malawi (FAM) on football broadcasting rights.
Cameroon football team on Saturday inflicted a harsh lesson on Malawi national football team as the Flames suffered a 0-4 defeat in the group D match of the African qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, that took place at Orlando Stadium in South Africa
Cameroon, opened the scoring in the 23rd minute through Vincent Aboubakar who converted from the sport after John Banda handled the ball in the box.
After the first goal, the Indomitable Lions came wave after wave to get their second and they were again rewarded in the 41st minute when Andre Anguissa scored with a right-footed shot from outside the box.
Malawi came in the second half an improved side but still failed to find a consolation and instead conceeded two painful goals towards the end of the match.
Second half substitute Christian Bassogog scored with his left foot after a personal move inside the box in the 85 minute before beating goalkeeper Brighton Munthali again with his right foot just two minutes later.
It was a bad day at the office for Meke Mwase and his boys finishing the game with absolutely no shot on target.
Cameroon are temporarily top of Group D with 12 points while they await the results of the game between Côte d’Ivoire who have 10 points and bottom placed Mozambique with one point this evening.
A ‘talented, mature and hard-working’ teenager originally from Malawi but living in Manchester had found it ‘difficult’ after being dropped by a top football club and took his own life just weeks after his 18th birthday.
Jeremy Wisten, who had been with the Manchester City academy since he was 13, was found dead by his mother in his sister’s bedroom last year.
Paramedics raced to the family home in Baguley but despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene
The late Jeremy Wisten
The inquest heard that in 2018, Jeremy saw his hopes of a scholarship with the club crumble after they decided to let him go following a serious knee injury.
He had previously spent five months away from the pitch and was dealing with a ligament injury that left him in ‘excruciating pain’, which meant he did not progress at the same speed as his peers and he was subsequently let go from the club in December 2018.
Despite many attempts and trials with other clubs to take him on, the 18-year-old had been unsuccessful.
The inquest heard he had found it ‘difficult’ to see his other sporting friends succeeding ahead of him, and had found the Covid-19 restrictions hard as it meant the ‘popular’ teen could not see friends, who he ‘cherished’ his time with.
But his family told the hearing there was ‘no evidence’ to suggest he had been struggling in the days leading up to his death.
Tragedy as Jeremy found dead at home The hearing heard that on the evening of October 24, 2020, the teen had locked the door to his sister’s room, the only door in the house that had a lock on it, where he then took his own life.
His mum Grace found him at around 9pm after she became concerned he had not come down to eat his dinner that evening.
A toxicology report found traces of benzodiazepine that would have only suggested recreational use.
Coroner Zak Golombek concluded that Jeremy had intended to take his own life
But Jeremy’s dad, Manila, told the inquest there was ‘absolutely no evidence to suggest he had been struggling’ and that he ‘did not believe he meant to take his own life’
He added football was Jeremy’s passion and that he ‘had looked up to Manchester City player Vincent Kompany since he was a child
He said: “He was always happy as a child and had been for his whole life.
“He was a born athlete who was always very sporty and competitive. He always wanted to come first in everything he did.
” Football became everything to him. He would kick the ball around the house and would never give anything less than his best. He would succeed in everything he did.
“After the injury nothing was the same. It didn’t stop him fully in his tracks but he was in so much pain.
“I had to remind him that some things in life cannot be controlled. I kept encouraging him to be strong.
“It was hard for him but he always retained his love for football.”
The funeral for Jeremy at St George’s Church last November(Image: Vincent Cole Manchester Evening News)
Manila also added that his son had been set for distinctions in his college studies and was applying for forensic science courses at universities in Manchester in the days leading up to his death.
The family had decided it was important for Jeremy to turn his focus to his studies after an impressive set of GCSE results.
There had been ‘no change in his behaviour’ in the weeks before his death, the inquest heard, and his father said that the teenager had merely suffered ‘ups and downs like everyone else his age during the pandemic’.
