Wanderers Forfeit Sends Silver to Cup Semis
"It's unfortunate a key stakeholder in Wanderers did not show up," said FAM Competitions and Communications Manager Gomezgani Zakazaka.
LILONGWE, Malawi - Silver Strikers have advanced to the semi-finals of the 2023 Airtel Top 8 "Zamadolo" after Mighty Mukuru Wanderers failed to show up for the second leg of the quarterfinal match on Wednesday at Kamuzu Stadium, writes Happy Valirani.
Silver won the first leg 2-0 last week.
According to Airtel Top 8 rules, if a team fails to show up, the present team automatically wins 2-0.
Wanderers had demanded that the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) postpone the match until after their pending appeal of the first leg result was heard.
FAM denied the request and held the match as scheduled.
Silver appeared on the field and went through pre-match warmups. After the required 30-minute wait, the referee blew the final whistle to confirm Silver's 4-0 aggregate win.
"It sends a negative impact to see this happen," said Silver coach Pieter De Jongh. "But we look ahead to the semi-final against Mafco."
The winner of Silver versus Mafco will face Nyasa Big Bullets, who have already reached the final.
The semi-final will be played Sunday at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
"It's unfortunate a key stakeholder in Wanderers did not show up," said FAM Competitions and Communications Manager Gomezgani Zakazaka.
"It's now up to our competition committee to determine next steps per the rules."
The Airtel Top 8 is an annual knockout tournament among Malawi's top clubs. This year's semis and final are slated for December.