Nyasa Big Bullets will face Be Forward Wanderers in the semi-final of the 2020 Ecobank FAM Charity Shield.
A draw conducted at Ecobank headquarters in Blantyre on Wednesday paired the two giants in the competition slated for 4-5 April at a venue to be announced by the Football Association of Malawi (FAM).
Initially, the Charity Shield, which this year involves four teams including Bullets, Wanderers, Blue Eagles and Silver Strikers, was scheduled to take place this weekend as a curtain raiser for the 2020 soccer season.
The two Lilongwe sides will meet in the other semi-final match and winners will face off on the second day to find the 2020 champions. Bullets are the current holders.
The FA boss, Walter Nyamilandu, defended the decision to shift the dates, saying there were several factors that were looked into, saying “We wanted to do things right and there were several factors that were looked into”.
“It took us quite a while to be able to align and agree on what should be done and that’s why there is a change, but I am happy that we were able to put everything to bed and agreed on the dates. Though we are two weeks behind the schedule, we will still achieve our purpose,” Nyamilandu explained.
The Pan African Bank, which moved in to start sponsoring the Charity Shield last year, has also increased the sponsorship package from K12 million to K18 million and it will be played two weeks after the 2020 TNM Super League kicking off.
Ever since its inspection in 2016, the competition has been won by Bullets.
In the inaugural year, Bullets recorded a 2-0 victory over Wanderers before beating Kamuzu Barracks 2-1 in 2017.
In 2018, the record Charity Shield winners thumped Silver Strikers 3-1 before lifting the trophy for the fourth consecutive time with a 1-nil victory over Wanderers in 2019.
The People’s Team will be chasing a fifth Charity Shield win.
The proceedings from this year’s competition will go towards the education sector, specifically for the survivors of the 2019 Cyclone Idai in the Lower Shire district of Chikwawa at Majila Village, as announced by the FAM president.
