Ahead of the official draw of the 2024 Castel Challenge Cup Rounds of 64 and 32 draw, FAM has officially released the draw procedures of the national cup.
Set to take place in Blantyre on Thursday 19 September at 10 am the draw will see a total of 64 teams engaged to battle for the title of the biggest knockout competition in the land.
Participation
About 934 teams;16 Super League teams, 99 Regional Leagues teams (36 from the South, 29 from the Centre and 37 from the North) and 960 District teams (448 from the South, 288 from the Centre and 224 from the North) registered for the 2024 Castel Challenge Cup
Format
The Cup is being played in the following phases:
District Preliminary Phase
The districts teams competed in their respective districts to determine a total of 31 district champions from all 3 regions to qualify for the Round of 16. The following are the 31 qualified district teams:
- Southern Region
Kalimachoka FC (Chiradzulu), Mulanje Champion, BT Rural Champion, Zomba Champion, Nsanje Champion, BT Urban Champion, Machinga Champion, Phalombe Champion, Neno Champion, Mangochi Champion, Balaka Champion, Maonga United (Thyolo), Chikhwawa Champion, Mwanza Champion
- Central Region
Ergo FC (Kasungu),Dowa Young Academy (Dowa),Bilira United (Ntcheu),Chimbiya Stars (Dedza),Napolo FC (Salima),Challengers FC (Nkhotakota),Tigers FC (Ntchisi),Mikundi Youth FC (Mchinji),Tapempha Medicals (Lilongwe Rural), LAC FC (Lilongwe Urban).
- Northern Region
Kameme United (Chitipa),Chicago FC (Karonga),Bolero Medicals (Rumphi),Hilltop FC (Mzuzu City),Chanthomba Academy (Mzimba), Afanamafana FC (Nkhatabay),Mighty Islanders (Likoma).
Regional Leagues Preliminary Phase
The Regional League teams, both Premier League and Divisions One, played in a knockout regional championship in their respective regions and 17 teams have qualified for the Round of 64 as follows:
- Southern Region
Immigration, The Boys, MMF Marine, Ntaja United, Changalume Barracks
- Centre Region
Airborne Rangers,Blue Eagles, Panthers FC,Pyramid FC,Green Rangers
- Northern Region
Songwe Boarder United, Chizumulu United ,Chipolopolo Boys, Chitipa White Movers, Embangweni United, Iponga FC,Lube Masters.
Super League Teams
All the 16 Super League teams namely Silver Strikers, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers, Mzuzu City Hammers, Creck Sporting, Kamuzu Barracks,Moyale Barracks, Civil Service United,Karonga United, MAFCO F.C, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, Dedza Dynamos, Mighty Tigers ,Fomo FC, Chitipa United,Bwangwe All Stars and Baka City will join the Competition in round of 64.
Round of 64 and 32 Draw Procedure
The Castle Challenge Cup Rounds of 64 and 32 will be played in a regional playoff format where the District Champions, Regional League Teams will join Super League teams in their respective regions to compete on a knockout basis to identify regional representatives to qualify for the Round of 16 as follows:
- Southern Region – 6 teams
- Central Region – 5 teams
- Northern Region – 5 teams
Southern Region
Th draw will attract 24 teams comprising of:
- 14 Districts champions: Kalimachoka FC ( Chiradzulu), Mulanje Champion, BT Rural Champion, Zomba Champion, Nsanje Champion, BT Urban Champion, Machinga Champion, Phalombe Champion, Neno Champion, Mangochi Champion, Balaka Champion, Mangochi Champion, Chikhwawa Champion, Mwanza Champion
- Five regional Leagues teams: Immigration, The Boyz, MMF Marine, Ntaja United, Changalume Barracks
- Five Super League teams: Mighty Mukuru Wanderers, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, Mighty Tigers, Fomo FC and Bangwe All Stars
Round of 64
The Five Super League teams will be seeded and will not face each other. They will be put in one pot and drawn against the other 19 teams (Regional League and Districts teams) in the other pot. However, during the draw involving the seeded teams there will be another draw to determine the home teams in the matches while in the other draw the home team will be determined by the team drawn first.
Round of 32
The winners of the 12 Round of 64 matches will face each other to determine the six teams to qualify for the Round of 16. The teams will be paired based on their match numbers with the winner of match number one facing winner of match number 12 in that order up to last match pairing winner match number 6 and winner match number 7.
Central Region
Th draw will attract 21 teams comprising of:
- Ten Districts champions: Ergo FC (Kasungu),Dowa Young Academy (Dowa),Bilira United (Ntcheu),Chimbiya Stars (Dedza),Napolo FC (Salima),Challengers FC (Nkhotakota),Tigers FC (Ntchisi),Mikundi Youth FC (Mchinji), Tapempha Medicals (Lilongwe Rural), LAC FC (Lilongwe Urban)
- Five regional Leagues teams: Airborne Rangers,Blue Eagles, Panthers FC,Pyramid FC,Green Rangers
- Six Super League teams: Silver Strikers, Creck Sporting, Kamuzu Barracks, Civil Service United, MAFCO, Dedza Dynamos)
Playoffs
The five Regional League teams and 10 District teams will be put in one pot where two teams will be drawn out to play in a playoff to determine one team to join the round of 64.
Round of 64
The Six Super League teams will be seeded and will not face each other. They will be put in one pot and drawn against the other 14 teams (Regional League and Districts teams) in the other pot. However, during the draw involving the seeded teams there will be another draw to determine the home teams in the matches while in the other draw the home team will be determined by the team drawn first.
Round of 32
The winners of the 10 Round of 64 matches will face each other to determine the five teams to qualify for the Round of 16. The teams will be paired based on their match numbers with the winner of match number one facing winner of match number 10 in that order up to last match pairing winner match number 5 and winner match number 6.
Northern Region
Th draw will attract 19 teams comprising of:
- Seven Districts champions: Kameme United (Chitipa),Chicago FC (Karonga),Bolero Medicals (Rumphi),Hilltop FC (Mzuzu City),Chanthomba Academy (Mzimba),Afanafana FC (Nkhatabay),Mighty Islanders (Likoma
- Seven Regional Leagues teams: Songwe Boarder United, Chizumulu United ,Chipolopolo Boyz, Chitipa White Movers, Embangweni United, Iponga FC,Lube Masters,
- Five Super League teams: Mzuzu City Hammers, Moyale Barracks, Karonga United, Chitipa and Baka City.
Round of 64
The top ranked team as per the Super League log table of Monday 16th September 2024 (Mzuzu City Hammers) will be seeded from this phase. The remaining four Super League teams will be seeded and will not face each other. They will be put in one pot and drawn against the other 14 teams (Regional League and Districts teams) in the other pot. However, during the draw involving the seeded teams there will be another draw to determine the home teams in the matches while in the other draw the home team will be determined by the team drawn first.
Round of 32
The winners of the nine Round of 64 matches will join Mzuzu City Hammers in the round of 32 to determine the five teams to qualify for the National Round of 16. Mzuzu City Hammers will face the winner of match 9. The other eight teams will be paired based on their match numbers with the winner of match number one facing winner of match number 8 in that order up to last match pairing winner number 4 and winner match number 5.
