Malawi: Wanderers seeking missing FDH Cup glory – Mpinganjira

Malawi’s most in-form club Mighty Wanderers’ coach Bob Mpinganjira has spoken of his burning desire to win the FDH Bank Cup for the first time on Sunday.

The Nomads, for all their rich history as the oldest organized football in the Southern African nation, have always fallen short of winning the national cup since its inception in 2021.

Now, the Blantyre-based team will give it another try when they line up against Silver Strikers in the cup’s final at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.

Ahead of the match, the Nomads coach Bob Mpinganjira told the press that his players were driven by the desire to fulfill club president Thom Mpinganjira’s wish to win the missing silverware in their trophy cabinet at the famed Lali Lubani Road.

“It will be difficult, just like every game is,” the coach told Wanderers website.

“However, my boys realize what is at stake. Bringing the FDH Cup home will be an honourable thing to do. Our club president [Dr. Thomson Mpinganjira] has always wanted us to bring the cup home and this time around, everyone in our camp is determined to do so. We have reached the final for the first time since the cup was introduced and we are a step away from lifting it.”

Mpinganjira on need for Wanderers to reward club president

Bob Mpinganjira, who is not related to the club’s president but Wanderers’ winger Wisdom Mpinganjira who is his son, downplayed the fact that Strikers have of late been having an upper hand over them.

“Yes, Wanderers may have not fared well against Silver Strikers in the past games but each game is new. We will not allow history to cloud our mindset. We are determined to do well. We have been speaking to our players and everyone is ready to work hard and achieve a positive outcome,” Bob Mpinganjira added.

What Wanderers captain said about the cup final

The Nomads captain Felix Zulu echoed his coach’s remarks, stressing the need to reward the team’s president for his continued financial support.

“Our president has given us enough motivation throughout this journey and my peers are highly motivated as we go to the battle on Sunday. We will, however, not be carried away by the recent victories against our rivals. We need to work hard and win the cup,” the skipper said.

Wanderers progressed to the final after seeing off rivals FCB Nyasa Big Bullets 1-0 while Strikers defeated Civil Service United 1-0 in the other semifinal.

Wanderers have been playing second fiddle to the Bankers in most meetings and in particular in this competition they lost 3-0 to their Lilongwe counterparts when the two teams met in the semifinal in 2021. Strikers went on to win the cup that year.