FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Women will be on the road to Lilongwe this weekend for the 2023 Goshen National Women’s Championship slated to kick off on 13 May at the Bingu National Stadium.
The weeklong tournament, initially scheduled to happen last month before its postponement, will attract ten teams drawn from the Central, Northern and Southern Regions.
Our women’s team head coach Maggie Chombo spoke to club media before their trip to the Capital.
“It’s a competition we have eagerly been waiting for after the completion of the regional leagues last season. As a coach, I’m happy that finally we are going to the national championship and I believe it’s what the girls have been looking forward to as well.”
Aiming to reclaim the national title they lost to Kukoma Ntopwa Women last season after failing to get past the semifinal stage, Bullets Women will open the campaign with a quarterfinal clash against MDF Lioness on Tuesday for a place in the last four.
With Ntopwa looking to defend the title and the likes of Ascent Academy, Silver Strikers Ladies, Civil Service Women, Mighty Wanderers Queens, CY Sisters, MK Academy and Moyale Sisters also eyeing the ultimate prize, Chombo knows the importance of winning our opening match.
“Looking at the new format, where we will go straight into the quarterfinals as opposed to last season when we started in the group stages, playing home and away winning all games before we lost in the semifinals, we all know how important it is to win the first match for us to proceed to the next level.
“We don’t expect an easy first match against the MDF Lioness just because we defeated them last season, especially meeting them at a time we have several injuries in our camp, and at the same time considering that the girls have stayed long without playing competitive matches.
“That said, the girls have been doing well in training and I am happy with their positive attitude. Last season we were booted out of the tournament in the semifinals by Ascent Academy, this season we are aiming to get past that stage to the final and get the trophy,” explained the former Malawi captain and coach.
Bullets Women go to the National Championship, previously sponsored by the Football Association of Malawi after finishing as runners-up in the FAM Women’s Football Southern Region League. They lost the title to national holders, Ntopwa Women.
