Chaiwa to become first Zambian to compete in new UEFA Champions League format

Miguel Chaiwa celebrates with his teammates after qualifying for the UEFA Champions League. (Photo via FB/BSC Young Boys)

Chipolopolo midfielder Miguel Chaiwa and his BSC Young Boys side have advanced to the league phase of the UEFA Champions League after beating Galatasaray 1-0 to proceed with a 4-2 aggregate win on Tuesday in Istanbul.

Chaiwa was introduced in the 80th minute, completing four out of the 6 passes he attempted while making one crucial recovery for his team in the dying minutes.

Seven minutes after his introduction, French winger, Alan Virginius, who was a second-half substitute, scored the all-important winner for the Young Boys in the 87th minute.

Chaiwa could be the first Zambian to compete in the revised UEFA Champions League format, in which all 36 qualified clubs will participate in a single league phase. The previous group stage format used to have 32 participants divided into eight groups of four.

In the new format, each team will face off against eight different teams, playing half of those matches at home and the other half away.

The competition’s league phase draw will take place today.

Meanwhile, Edward Chilufya’s Midtjylland failed to qualify on Wednesday night after losing 4-3 on aggregate to Slovan.

This means Chaiwa will be the only Zambian to compete in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season.

Calvin Kaumba Chikenge August 28, 2024

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Calvin Kaumba Chikenge is an award-winning Zambian multimedia sports journalist well known for his exclusive stories and feature writing. He was voted 2023/24 MTN/FAZ Super League journalist of the year. In addition to reporting on sports for Spring TV, he interned for the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper. He is the current Ballon d'Or juror and has contributed to numerous international publications, including the Guardian in the UK, and is the editor of BolaNews.