The Airtel Top 8 Season six was unveiled at Mpira Village on Wednesday morning with yet another exciting news from the sponsors, Airtel Malawi that this year’s edition will be live streamed on Airtel TV Mobile app.
Airtel Malawi Managing Director Charles Kamoto said the company wants to bring the game closer to fans by making all the 11 matches accessible on the phones.
“The Airtel Top 8 also known as ZaMadolo has not only been about football, but also about connecting with our customers and giving them an unforgettable experience. As a sports loving brand, we are constantly looking at additional ways to engage and interact with the football fans; and sharing our beloved top 8 branded t-shirts and caps in the past seasons have been a great source of football fan engagement.
“This year we have brought football closer to the fans using their mobile phones with our revolutionary Airtel TV mobile app has onboarded Football Association of Malawi’s Mpira TV which will broadcast all Top 8 games on the fast-growing Airtel TV mobile app that we launched in March this year. With Airtel TV mobile app, Malawians will be able to watch all eleven Top 8 matches from their mobile phones wherever they are by simply downloading and installing the app from the android and apple mobile app stores.
“We are grateful to our partners, the Football Association of Malawi, the referees, the clubs, the players, the coaches, and most importantly, the fans, for their continued support and cooperation in making Airtel Top 8 ZaMadolo the success that it is today.
“Airtel Top 8 is more than just a tournament. It is a celebration of Malawian football culture, and passion. It is a platform for talent development and entertainment, and a testimony of our commitment to invest in sports development in Malawi,” said Kamoto.
FAM Vice President who is the Chairperson of the FAM Competition’s Committee Justice Jabbar Alide hailed Airtel for coming back with the 6th edition of Top 8 saying this shows that the company is satisfied with the way the competition is managed by FAM.
“Airtel Top 8 is the most competitive elite cup as it is participated by the top 8 elite clubs on the land and the coming back of Airtel for the 6th edition is a proof of their satisfaction with how we are managing the competition.
“For instance, the 2022 Airtel Top 8 was one of best delivered competitions from all perspectives including General Competition and Match organisation, performance on the field of play, Sponsors and FAM Collaboration, Sponsors fan engagement as well as fans behavior.
“For the first time we managed to broadcast a full football competition in Malawi with all the 11 matches beamed live on TV. The 2022 final was also the most watched local football match of the season as it registered a record revenue collection for 2022 as 31, 000 turned up at the BNS.
“This year’s competition will run between September 23 and December 9 and will be participated by the teams that finished in the top eight in the 2022 Super League season.
“The format has no changed and in the first round of the competition the clubs finishing from position five to eight positions of the Super League in the previous season will be the home teams in the first leg and there shall be a special draw for the semifinals,” said Alide.
This year’s Airtel Top 8 winner will go away with K17 Million while all the Participating teams will get a K1 Million subvention. The competition’s Top goal scorer and player of the tournament will receive K500,000 and the man of the match for each of the 11 matches will take home a sum of K50,000 and a miniature.
There is also a special recognition for fans this year as the best fan will be awarded K200,000.
A total of 11 Matches will be played throughout the competition and the quarterfinals will be played in a home and away basis where goal aggregate and away goal rules shall apply while the semifinals and final matches will be played in a single fixture.
Below is how the teams have been paired according to the 2022 TNM Super League final Log Table with teams from position 5 to 8 playing at home in the first leg:
- Civil Service United Vs. FCB Nyasa Big Bullets
- Moyale Barracks Vs. Blue Eagles
- Mafco Vs. Kamuzu Barracks
- Silver Strikers Vs. Mighty Mukuru Wanderers
This year’s opening will involve the game between Silver Striker and defending champions Mighty Mukuru Wanderers at Bingu national Stadium on 23rd September.
