Category: Sports

  • NBB win fourth consecutive League title

    NBB win fourth consecutive League title

    Nyasa Big Bullets have retained TNM Super League championship for the fourth time in a row after their 3-1 win over Moyale Barracks at Kamuzu Stadium on Saturday.

    Kalisto Pasuwa’s side relied on a goal from Gomezgani Chirwa a brace from Lanjesi Nkhoma to be declared champions.

    Lloyd Njaliwa scored the consolation goal for Moyale Barracks who returns to the North with three points after their 1-0 midweek win over Mighty Mukuru Wanderers.

    The win has taken Bullets to 67 points, eight above second placed Blue Eagles with two games to spare.

    After the match Nyasa Big Bullets coach Kalisto Pasuwa hailed his charges for playing under his instructions.

    “I told my boys to play their usual game today because I didn’t want them to play under pressure so I am happy that they followed the instructions, we have won the match and we are the champions so I am very excited” said Kalisto Pasuwa

    His counterpart Prichard Mwansa was happy for his teams display despite a defeat.

    “We played very well, and created a number of chances but unfortunately we didn’t utilize so its part of the game, we have finalized our games in top 8 hopefully we will prepare well for next year’s League for us to fight for the championship” said Prichard Mwansa

  • Divisions rock Wanderers Technical Panel

    Divisions rock Wanderers Technical Panel

    Divisions have erupted in Mighty Mukuru Wanderers’ camp with head coach Alex Ngwira accusing Technical Director Director Mark Harrison of influencing fielding of some players which are not in his game plan.

    This has come to light following last Wendesday’s 1-0 home defeat against Moyale Barracks which has dented the Nomads’ ambitions of finishing in the top three of the TNM Super League.

    The Nomads now sit 9 points behind third placed Kamuzu Barracks and are fifth on the standings with only 3 games left to play.

    Following Moyale’s defeat, an audio clip has gone viral in which a voice suspected to be that of Head Coach Alex Ngwira is overheard making serious allegations towards the Technical Director who he claims is getting favours from some members of the Board to influence team selection.

    ‘He doesn’t know fielding of players, I wanted Cholopi to play in midfield because he makes more blunders so we wanted him to be covered by the defence, but he (TD) fielded him in defense. He is being misled by the likes of Magomero, he has just arrived few weeks ago how could he get to know the players and make decisions? He needs to keep calm and start with his tactics during preseason, and his tactics can not suit our grounds and players”, Ngwira is heard telling another unidentified person.

    Since the arrival of Ngwira at the Lali Lubani, Wanderers had gone six games undefeated but their first loss came soon after the arrival of Harrison.

    There was no immediate reaction from the team.

  • TNM SUPER LEAGUE WEEK 31 MIDWEEK: NBB edge closer and five talking points

    TNM SUPER LEAGUE WEEK 31 MIDWEEK: NBB edge closer and five talking points

    The TNM Super League took a decisive turn on Wednesday with major movements in the top three of the table.

    Nyasa Big Bullets now have a five point advantage in the race for the title as Kamuzu Barracks revive top two hopes in after week 31 midweek fixtures.

    We take a look at some major talking points.

    NBB EDGE CLOSER

    Nyasa Big Bullets edges closer to retain League Championship for the fourth time in a row following their 2-0 away win over Mighty Wakawaka Tigers at Mpira Stadium.

    Goals from Babatunde Adepoju and Patrick Mwaungulu lifted Bullets to 64 points as they remain with 3 games to wind up the season.

    The People’s Team will need a draw in their next encounter to be crowned champions as they will reach challengers Blue Eagles’ maximum points with unreachable goal deference.

    SOLDIERS HUMILIATES KARONGA

    Alexander Sikwambe scored twice to help MAFCO FC beat Karonga United 5-0 at Chitowe Stadium.

    The other goals for the Salima based Soldiers came from Yohane Malunga, Richard Mbulu and Mphatso Phillimon as they maintain sixth position and move a point behind Mighty Mukuru Wanderers.

    NOMA SUFFER BACK TO BACK DEFEATS

    Mighty Mukuru Wanderers quest to finish second has been dented with a 1-0 home defeat against Moyale Barracks.

    Brown Magaga’s early strike was enough to give Moyale Barracks Maximin points and hand Wanderers second successive League defeat following another defeat at Blue Eagles last week.

    Now Wanderers needs to win all remaining three games and pray that KB and Blue Eagles should lose their remaining fixtures to finish second.

    BABATUNDE EXTEND LEAD

    Top goalscorer Babatunde Adepoju stroke from the spot in Bullets’ win over Tigers to extend his goal tally to 17, two goals ahead of closest golden boot contender Muhammad Sulumba.

    Sulumba had a chance to close up the gap but he failed to make impact in Mighty Mukuru Wanderers 1-0 defeat against Moyale Barracks.

    With three games to go both Babatunde and Sulumba have chances to add goals to their tallies.

    FIRST GOAL FOR MBULU

    MAFCO FC forward Richard Mbulu has registered his first goal of the season after rejoining the club from professional football in South Africa.

    Mbulu’s goal drought came in MAFCO’s 5-0 win over Karonga United.

  • SUPER LEAGUE ROUND-UP: Sable relegated as Eagles move closer to the Top

    SUPER LEAGUE ROUND-UP: Sable relegated as Eagles move closer to the Top

    Sable Farming have been shown exit door in the TNM Super League following two back to back loses against Blue Eagles and Silver Strikers over the weekend.

    Blue Eagles have moved two points behind leaders Nyasa Big Bullets while Silver Strikers have completed their 2022 TNM Super League games as they currently stay on fourth.

    We take a look at week 31 major talking points:

    BLUE EAGLES 1-0 SABLE FARMING

    Blue Eagles reduced the gap between them and leaders Nyasa Big Bullets last Saturday after their 1-0 win over Sable Farming at their backyard, Nankhaka Stadium thanks to Micium Mhone’s lone strike.

    With two games to wind up the season for the part of the Area 30 Police Men, the gap has been trimmed to two points adrift of leaders Nyasa Big Bullets who have two games in hand.

    As it stands, The Eagles needs to win all the remaining games and play that Bullets should lose at least three of their four remaining games.

    MOYALE BARRACKS 0-2 KAMUZU BARRACKS

    Kamuzu Barracks bounced back from last weeks defeat to Silver Strikers as they beat fellow Soldiers Moyale Barracks 2-0 at Mzuzu Stadium on Sunday.

    John Banda and Juma Yatina scored in each half to hand the Chiwoko Soldiers much needed victory.

    With the result, KB have maintained third position as they remain four points behind second placed Blue Eagles. They have also opened four points gap over Mighty Mukuru Wanderers who remains closest contenders of top three finish.

    SILVER STRIKERS 2-1 SABLE FARMING

    Sable Farming relegation was confirmed on Sunday when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Silver Strikers.

    It took 54 minutes for the Bankers to find the winner through Mark Fodya after Sable’s Mikel Teteh had cancelled Innocent Shema’s early strike for Silver Strikers.

    Sable Farming who returns to the Southern Region Thumbs up League have so far collected 24 points from 29 games, which is four points behind Red Lions who stays a step above relegation.

    The Chiradzulu based side has completed the list of relegated sides, TN Stars and Rumphi United.

    On the other hand Silver Strikers TNM Super League season is over after playing their last game.

    The Bankers are on fourth position but a draw for Mighty Mukuru Wanderers and two wins for MAFCO will see them finish on sixth position.

  • BT Giants transacts pain to Visitors Airtel accounts

    BT Giants transacts pain to Visitors Airtel accounts

    The two Blantyre giants, Nyasa Big Bullets and Mighty Mukuru Wanderers have started their 2022 Airtel Top campaign with emphatic victories in the first league quarter final matches.

    Nyasa Big Bullets were the first to hand their opponents a heavy defeat when they massacred Karonga United 7-0 at a half-packed Kamuzu Stadium last Saturday.

    An opener from Antony Mfune and a brace from Lanjesi Nkhoma handed Bullets a 3-0 advantage at half time before substitutes Babatunde Adepoju, Henry Kabich, Precious Phiri and Stanley Billiat completed the slaughter of the Crocodiles.

    The result has left the People’s Team with a greater chance of progressing to the semis in their quest to defend the Airtel Top 8 titles as Karonga will need to score 8 goals without conceding to progress.

    24 hours later Mighty Mukuru Wanderers gave themselves advantage of progressing heading into the second league as they beat MAFCO FC 2-0.

    In a very physical and highly contested match, the Nomads took the lead early in the first half courtesy of Francis Mkonda’s header.

    MAFCO FC squandered an opportunity to register an away goal deep inside the first half as Wanderers goalie Pilalani Mapila made a fabulous save to deny Mphatso Phillimon scoring from the spot.

    Vincent Nyangulu sealed the victory for the Lali Lubani outfit in the closing stages of the first half as his close range finish closed the scores for the day.

    The two teams will faceoff in the second league at the Chitowe Stadium on 25th November.

  • FAM President says Malawi ready for Region 5 Youth games

    President of the Football Association of Malawi (FAM), Walter Nyamilandu, has expressed Malawi’s readiness to host the 10th edition of the Region 5 Youth Games in December.

    Nyamilandu said this following the successful inaugural Confederations of African Football (CAF) Specifically on African Schools Football Championship which was held in Lilongwe as test games for the upcoming Region 5 Games.

    Speaking on the sidelines after the prize presentations, Nyamilandu said the country is geared to emphatically host this historic event.

    “From both the hosting and technical point of view, we have assessed that we are more than ready for the Region 5 Youth Games and we cannot wait for the games to begin,” he said.

    Nyamilandu further said the CAF/Council of Southern African Football Association (COSAFA) qualifiers test games ahead of the youth games have concluded remarkably and served its purpose in line with Region 5 which is talent identification.

    “It has been a huge success, we didn’t expect to come this far and so I can confirm that it went according to plan as we hosted the school teams with no complaints. The venue was magnificent, some of us have been very surprised with the standard of play, I saw talent In schools and hence it has achieved the purpose, to acknowledge talent from both boys and girls,” Nyamilandu insisted.

    COSAFA President Artur de Almeida e Silva said they are looking forward to the Region 5 Youth Games and expressed satisfaction with the countries that are actively hosting these tournaments as Malawi is expected to host this year’s tournament.

    “Region 5 has a lot of sports disciplines including football and our delegates from COSAFA will come during the games to ensure all goes well. The idea is for all countries in the region to host tournaments and so we are working with CAF to enhance everybody’s participation,” he said.

    De Almeida e Silva hailed the idea of incorporating school sports in the COSAFA calendar and further called on all regional member countries to work together to improve football in Africa.

    “These games were for under 15, we already have under 17 games but we want younger talent to be involved as we are progressing.” He emphasized.

    De Almeida e Silva went on to thank CAF for the school championship because it’s amazing for young people, a good opportunity for Africa to reorganize the base of its football and appreciated those sponsors who availed themselves from Malawi and called for more sponsors.

    Meanwhile, COSAFA intends to use the region 5 games as Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers for under 17 boys and girls.

    Participants in the CAF games were teams from South Africa, Seychelles, Comoros, Angola Botswana and hosts Malawi.

  • Phodo snubs Silver Strikers

    Phodo snubs Silver Strikers

    Silver Strikers has announced the departure of striker Maxwell Gasten Phodo who left the Club as a free agent.

    According to the statement released by the Bankers, the 2021 TNM Super League second top scorer rejected Silvers contractual terms forcing the club to release him.

    “Silver Strikers Football Club would like to inform it’s fans, stakeholders and the general public that the club has failed to agree on contractual terms with Maxwell Gasten Phodo after the expiry of his contract on 2nd October 2022” reads part of the statement

    The Club said the former Mzuzu Warriors forward has left the Clubs with immediate effect as a free agent.

  • COSAFA African schools football Championship kicks off

    COSAFA African schools football Championship kicks off

    By Twimepoki Mangani:

    The CAF African Schools Football Championship and COSAFA Zonal Qualifiers have officially opened by the CAF president Patrice Motsepe at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe which will run from 29-31 October.

    Speaking during the opening ceremony President of Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe hailed the growth of football in Malawi and said the tournament among the schools will be a gateway that will enable development in various aspects.

    “Football in Malawi is growing because we have a Minister and a President who supports football, I would also like to thank the deputy ministry of education because Football starts in schools, I believe we are going to see young players who will be the best.

    “The money involved will be used to build infrastructure , football pitches, transport for development all this goes hand in hand with education because it will contribute to laboratories and libraries,” he said.

    Motsepe also hailed FAM for the work being done around football in the country and expressed confidenc that a team from Africa will become champions of the world so day.

    Minister of Sports Richard Chimwendo Banda appreciated the Motsepe Foundation for donating USD 10 Million to the FIFA-CAF Pan-African Schools football Championship which will help initiate and support the growth of football in schools.

    “It’s a dream for the whole Africa by bringing resources and investing in sports and schools you are doing right. The government of the president of Malawi Lazurus Chakwera will work with CAF to ensure it is effective. The money is a huge boast and it cant be taken for granted.

    The CAF president was accompanied by CAF general secretary Veron Mosengo- Omba and Cosafa President Artur de Almeida e Silva.

    The minister extended an invitation to the Patrice Motsepe to Malawi during the region 5 games that will be held in December.

    President of Footballl Association of Malawi (FAM) Walter Nyamilandu hailed the Governments of from the respective countries for allowing their students to participate as he promised to successful host the tournament.

    “Today is a historical day since it’s the first time that the CAF president has visited Malawi and that we are hosting African Schools football compettetion for the first. This reunion between football and schools will take African Football forward and we shall cease this opportunity.

    The winners will pocket 100,000 USD ( approximately MK100 million) while the second place will win 75 ,000 USD and 50,000 USD for the third place.

    Also participating are schools from Comoros, SeychellesAngola Botswana and Malawi.Results from the first day saw the side fr Angola Rosinha boys school win 2-0 against IQRA School from Comoros while for the ladies team Malawi’s Malindi Secondary School defeated Edendale Technical from South Africa 1-0.

     

     

     

     

  • Eagles silence Wanderers with a 1-0 drubbing

    Eagles silence Wanderers with a 1-0 drubbing

    Blue Eagles Saturday kept their impressive form in the TNM Super League going when they defeated Blantyre based giant, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers at Nankhaka ground in Lilongwe.

    The much anticipated match saw a goalless first half which was largely dominated by Blue Eagles through goal threatsfrom Gaddie Chirwa, Ian Chinyama, Richard Rapson and Paul Master, and for several times Wanderers goalkeeper, Pilirani Mapira emerged heroic.

    During the second half Coach of Blue Eagles, Elia Kananji made some twitches to the squad which proved effective as the team was able to pull up their socks, that evolves Rapson, Schumacher Kuwali, Master and goalie. Munthali had several stand out moments during the match.

    But on several attempts, Blue Eagles were left wanting as Miracle Gabeye was unshakable on a defensive end.

    Eagle’s left winger, Rapson broke the deadlock during the 56th minute through an assist from Kuwali.

    In a post-match interview Coach of Blue Eagles, Kananji hailed his players for the good game and encouraged them to play well ahead of their final matches.

    “We are happy for the three points, of course we can’t conclude that we are number two yet but we shall work hard in the remaining three games so that we can assess ourselves after we have played all games,” he said.

    Kananji admitted that it was unpleasant for the coaching staff when the team can’t sum up wins against weaker teams but insisted that he would continue encourage the team.

    “Yes we have lost to some of the weaker teams, as coaching staff we tell them all games are the same, but normally the boys become relaxed but largely their performance has been great which is a result of the excellent coaching stuff we have,’ he added said.

    Mighty Mukuru Wanderers FC Coach, Alex Ngwira said that they didn’t have the best game but remain hopeful to make the top four.

    “We didn’t play well today, we were slow and always defending, they had an edge, and hence scored a wonderful goal. We were meant to get a penalty but the referee didn’t call it I guess that’s football in Malawi.

    “We want to focus on the remaining games, we need to fix the problems will saw and hope to make it to top four and even top two, who knows they have tough away fixtures coming up,” he said.

    Bleue Eagles left winger, Rapson was named man of the match while Eagles central defender, Jacob Roberts had his matching orders after receiving a second yellow card in the 61st minute.

    In another match, Civil Service United beat Ekwendeni Hammers 1-0, a penalty from Bashir Maunde.

    The league table as of October 29, 2022 has Blue Eagles in second place after playing 27 games with 56 points while Mighty Wanderers having played 26 games has 50 points.

    Nyasa Big Bullets still leads the log table with 61 from 26 games.

  • FDH Bank impressed with FDH Bank Cup tournament

    FDH Bank impressed with FDH Bank Cup tournament

    By Erik Chiputula:

    FDH Bank says it is happy with the progress of the FDH Bank Cup which has just finished its second season at the weekend with an all Nyasa Big Bullets affair between the senior team and its reserve side.

    FDH Bank Managing Director Noel Mkulichi said the Bank is happy with the progress of the cup and is committed to sponsorship and promoting the growth of football in the country.

    “We are impressed with the progress of the FDH Bank Cup. You will agree with me that through this cup, a lot of football talent has been exposed because even teams in the lower leagues were given a chance to compete and the evidence is what we saw in the finals,” said Mkulichi.

    In the finals of the FDH Bank Cup, Nyasa Big Bullets Reserve side defied odds to reach the final after knocking off some Super league teams.

    Nyasa Big Bullets senior side overcame the Reserve side by beating them 3-1 to clinch the cup and walk home with K25 million prize money while the Reserve side went home with K8 million as losing finalists. Overall, the cup is worth K90 million.

    “As a local and home-grown Bank, we are happy that talent is being unearthed and will be grown into big name stars for our national football team through the FDH Bank Cup. We also want to congratulate the winners, it was not easy to win this cup, the competition is tough and gets tough each year,” said Mkulichi.

    “We also want to applaud the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and government for their role in promoting sports in the country. Let me assure them that FDH Bank will support their efforts in promoting sports in the country,” added Mkulichi.