Power Dynamos will be hoping this weekend is the day they finally end their 11-year wait for the Charity Shield when they face Red Arrows in Lusaka at the Nkoloma Stadium on Sunday.
Power, who lifted the MTN Super League title last season, will take on the team that denied them a league and cup double after beating them 2-0 in the ABSA Cup final last campaign.
The stakes may not be as high as those attached to the league or cup, and the Charity Shield is often viewed as little more than a glorified friendly.
But for Power, a trophy is still a trophy.
And the Kitwe giants are taking the season-opening fixture seriously as they seek to start the new campaign with silverware and put behind them the disappointment of last season’s cup final defeat.
Power midfielder Linos Makwaza Jr. said winning the trophy would be particularly significant for players who have never lifted it.
“I think this game is important to us and our families. Some of us have never won the Charity Shield, so it will be nice to win,” Makwaza said.
Malawian midfielder Chifundo Mphasi echoed his teammate’s sentiments, saying the players were prepared to give everything to bring the trophy back to Kitwe.
Power assistant coach and club legend Linos Makwaza Snr. said the club had waited long enough for the trophy.
“We need this trophy, it has eluded us for so long. It has been a long time since Power Dynamos won the Charity Shield, so we want to get it,” he said.
Power last won the Charity Shield in 2015 and will be hoping to break the drought against an Arrows side that will be equally determined to carry its momentum from last season into the new campaign.
