It’s a big week at FCB Nyasa Big Bullets. As the first team is gearing up for the CAF Champions League second preliminary round first-leg tie against TP Mazembe, the reserves and the women also have fixtures awaiting them from Tuesday.
The youth team will not be in action this week as they have completed their Group A preliminary fixtures in the FCB Under-19 Cup and are now waiting to learn their opponents in the knockout stages.
Here is how this week looks for The People’s Team…
First Team
Having rested for two weeks after contributing seven first-team players to the Malawi national team that drew 2-2 against Guinea in the AFCON qualifiers on Saturday, Kalisto Pasuwa’s charges will switch their attention to the CAF Champions League when they host the Democratic Republic of Congo’s TP Mazembe in the second preliminary round first leg tie at Bingu National Stadium on Sunday.
The People’s Team advanced to this stage after hammering Equatorial Guinea’s Dragon FC with a comfortable 3-0 win in the two-legged first preliminary tie.
Facing TP Mazembe in this phase of Africa’s biggest club competition will be Pasuwa’s ultimate test for his men to strive for a spot in the group stages for the first time since 2004.
Sunday’s encounter will be the first meeting between the Malawi and DRC champions in the continental club competition while the second clash will be the return leg away in Lubumbashi on 30 September.
Reserves
Our team B will be at home against Tigers Reserves in the ThumbsUp Southern Region Football League on Tuesday afternoon at Kamuzu Stadium.
Enos Chatama’s boys are second in the table with 26 points following their 1-1 draw against The Boys, a point behind FOMO FC.
A win over Tigers, a side they comfortably beat 4-1 in the first round at Mpira Stadium, will see them temporarily dislodging the log leaders who will play a game on Wednesday.
Bullets Reserves are the current defending champions of the competition, having won it for the last three years.
Women
Our ladies will have a mountain to climb when they travel to Mpira Stadium to face Malawi champions Ntopwa FC on Saturday.
With four wins and one draw in their last five games, Maggie Chombo’s ladies are topping the Southern Region League with 13 points from which they have scored 39 goals.
The match against Ntopwa will be a must-win for our women’s team to maintain their perfect start to the championship race.
Youth
Our junior side completed their assignments in Group A with a whopping 35 points from which they only lost once to top the group going into the knockout stages of the FCB Under-19 youth championship.
Autry Kalulu’s boys will now await to know their opposition and they will strive to keep on doing well to break the curse of failing to win the competition despite a clean record in the group stages. They finished their group match with a comfortable 2-0 win over Assima FC last weekend.
It is an action-packed week at Bullets, with the first team facing the battle of destiny against one of Africa’s heavyweights as far as the CAF Champions League competition is concerned. Tickets for this vital match are already on the market at various selling points across the country.
