2019 Airtel Top 8 trophy draw has paired together two giants, Silver Strikers and Mighty Be Forward Wanderers to face each other as early as the first quarter final much.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) conducted the draw on Wednesday at Mpira Village in Blantyre.

The draw has also seen the automatic qualifiers, TN Stars, being lined up against Karonga United in the first quarter final fixture.

In the second quarter final fixtures, the green intellectuals, Mzuni FC has been paired with Civo Sporting while Kamuzu Barracks will face  Masters Security.

The first semi-final stage will see the winners between Mzuni FC and Civo Sporting playing against the winner between TN Stars and Karonga United.

The winner between Kamuzu Barracks and Masters Security will meet the winner between Silver Strikers and Be Forward Wanderers.

During the quarter final stage, the cup will be played on a home and away basis whereby away goal and goal aggregates scores rules shall be applied.

The semifinals and final shall be played on knockout basis in single fixtures whereby the fixtures shall be determined by a draw and there will be no seeding of teems at any level.

This year’s trophy has exempted the TNM super league holders, Nyasa Big Bullets, from the list, as the team is serving a punishment after being found guilty of causing chaos during the previous Airtel Top8 final match, and has been replaced by TN Stars.

Another shocker in this year’s race is the missing out of the current cup holders, Blue Eagles FC, as a result of the team’s unimpressive performance in the 2018 TNM super league season where they finished eleventh on the log table.

Games in this year’s Airtel Top8 trophy will kick off from April 27 until the month of June and will be played under the motto “WAKA” meaning more goals.