The 2022 ABSA Cup kicks off this afternoon with two mouth-watering quarter-final encounters taking place at Kitwe’s Arthur Davies Stadium.
2018 Champions, Nkana will face off with National Division One side, Lumwana Radiants in the first match before record six time Champions, ZESCO United can go head to head with Green Eagles.
12:30, Nkana FC vs Lumwana Radiants, Arthur Davies Stadium.
Nkana will be looking to progress to the semifinals as they continue their hunt for a second title in the competition.
Nkana beat Young Green Eagles 3-0 in 2018 to lift their first title and are eager to make it two titles.
Lumwana Radiants on the other hand will be hoping the trend of upsets continues in this competition so that they can get past Kalampa.
The last time the two teams met last year before Lumwana Radiants were relegated, The Uranium Boys recorded a hard fought 1-0 win.
Nkana have however dominated this fixture winning five games from eleven with four draws and only two losses.
Nkana are coming off a 2-0 win over Kafue Celtic while Lumwana is winless in the last two games.
Ronald ‘Sate-Sate’ Kampamba will be expected to partner Alex Ng’onga upfront for Nkana to provide an attacking threat that Lumwana needs to take seriously.
The winner will meet winner between Green Buffaloes and Napsa Stars in the semi-finals of the tournament slated for April 2 at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
15:00, ZESCO United vs Green Eagles, Arthur Davies Stadium.
The second match of the day will see record six time Champions, ZESCO United go head to head with Green Eagles in an epic encounter.
ZESCO United have been very successful in this competition reaching seven finals and winning six, only lost last year to Lusaka Dynamos on post match penalties.
ZESCO United will be without Kenyan talisman Vincent Oburu, and veteran Winston Kalengo who are out nursing injuries.
Winger Spencer Sautu will also miss the match due to contractual obligations as Eagles are his parent club and he is on loan at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
Numba Mumamba still has a whole squad of quality to look up to with Enock Sakala Jnr, Chanda Mukuka, Thabani Kamusoko, Dickson Chapa , Edward Lungu, Kasoma Luwawa and Kelvin Mubanga Kampamba are available for selection.
Meanwhile Aggrey Chiyangi on the other side will be looking to replicate what he and his team did in the league beating Team ya Ziko 2-0.
Chiyangi will call upon the likes of Derrick Bulaya, Enerst Mbewe, Hosea Silwimba and Emmanuel Mwaba to provide the much needed fire power upfront.
The winner between Zega Mambo and the Kawale Boys will face the winner between Red Arrows and Nkwazi in the semifinals.
The semifinals will take place at Nkoloma Stadium on April 2nd, 2022. This years’ final will take place at the National Heroes Stadium on April 16th, 2022.
ABSA Bank Zambia has pumped in K4 million as a sponsorship package for the 2022 ABSA Cup.
The winners will walk away with K650 000 (from K600 000 won by Lusaka Dynamos last season) while runners up will get K300 000 compared to K250 000 for last season.
The man of the match will be walking away with K15,000.
