A SEASON OF FIRST FOR MALEMBE

FOREST Rangers Football Club ended the 2022/23 season on a high by winning its first Absa Cup title.That was not the only first for the club last season as in beating MUZA in the Absa Cup final at Woodlands Stadium, Fole Malembe entered the history books for being the winner of the first game that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was at play in the country.

Tomorrow, Absa Cup champions Forest Rangers plays the Carling Black Label Samuel ‘Zoom’ Ndhlovu Charity Shield against MTN Super Division winners Power Dynamos. In this one, again for the first time, fans have been given the power to pick their starting XI.

From July 7 when the announcement was made, as many as 147, 000 plus fans have cast their votes and everyone will be anxiously waiting to see who makes the starting XI in this highly-anticipated match.

Speaking at the press briefing at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Forest Rangers Head Coach Ian Bakala said he was excited about the fans having to pick the starting lineup but he wished the coaches had more time to prepare the selected team.

“I think I am very excited about this match because this will be happening for the first time but I still believe we needed more time to prepare the team. We wish had maybe one week to prepare the selected team but we will have less than 24 hours. But all in all, we are prepared and ready to face Power Dynamos tomorrow,” said Bakala.

Zambian Breweries Head of Marketing, Thelma Kaonga announced that voting closed at 14:00hrs on August 11 and the starting line-ups will then be availed to the two teams thereafter.

Both teams already have an idea of how the votes are going so far but will have to wait for the final list to be announced by the sponsors, Carling Black Label Zambia .

“We expect so much from the players and each of them has to be ready for the season. Everyone who is going to start tomorrow is going to put in 120% because they know what is at stake. If the fans pick you, just know that they have faith in you and you have to be prepared to play,” said Bakala.

The Charity Shield will be Forest Rangers’ second competitive preparatory match before kicking-off the league against Kabwe Warriors at home in a week’s time.

“We are all looking forward to the match, including the captain here, who was injured but he’s back and ready to play tomorrow. This game will give us a good picture of where we are and how we are going to start come next week.” Bakala said.

Malembe announced a few additions to their squad earlier this week and will be looking forward to seeing how the players gel before the MTN super league kicks-off on August 19.