WIRE โ Malawi champions Mighty Wanderers believe they have assembled a squad that is capable of reaching the 2026- 2027 Caf Champions League group stage. The club's director of football David Kanyenda said this Wednesday after Wanderers got a certificate to participate in the Caf Champions League after fulfilling all club licencing requirements. Kanyenda said their primary target was to qualify for the group stage. "We intend to hoist the club's and Malawi's flag higher than during previous editions, with group-stage qualification as a primary target. "We do not only have the squad but we have the desire and confidence to do so. We believe we can," he said. The Confederation of African Football (Caf) released the calendar competitions a fortnight ago. for 2026-27 inter-club According to Caf's calendar, the first preliminary round first-leg matches will be played from September 4, before return-leg matches a week later. Caf is yet to announce dates for the draw. Kanyenda said being the only team in Malawi in this year's competition was a testament and validation of the club's sporting and administrative excellence under club President Thompson Mpinganjira. "We now eagerly await the draw in order to find out the identify of our opponents," he said. Fam Competitions and Club Licencing Manager Clement Kafwafwa said Wanderers complied with Caf licencing requirements. "All documents and decisions relating to the Club Licencing process are available in the Caf Licencing Online Platform (CLOP)," he said. Wanderers last participated in the Caf Champions League in 2017 but were eliminated in the first preliminary round after suffering a 6-1 loss to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) side AS Vita. Last yeaรr, the team participated in the Caf Confederation Cup but lost 7-6 on post-match penalties to Jwaneng Galaxy of Botswana after tying 1-1 on aggregate. The team will be Malawi's sole representative in the Caf Inter-Club Competition this year after FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and Silver Strikers decided against participating in the Caf Confederation Cup. Bullets were eligible to participate in the Confederation Cup after winning the 2025 Castel Challenge Cup. Silver, on the hand, were given a chance to take part in the second-tier Caf club competition after winning the FDH Bank Cup last season. The Bankers reached the Caf Champions League second preliminary round but were eliminated after suffering a 2-1 loss (on aggregate) to Yanga of Tanzania. Bullets were the last Malawian team to reach the group stage in 2004.
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