* The Golden Boot award has already been decided for Nyasa Big Bullets’ Maxwell Phodo Gasten, who finished with 7 goals and also nominated for Player of the Tournament
* The winners of the awards will be unveiled at the FAM Annual Football Awards, scheduled to take place on March 6, 2026 at COMESA Hall in Blantyre
Maravi Express
Goalkeepers for Nyasa Big Bullets’ Innocent Nyasulu and Dedza Dynamos’ Donex Mwakasinga have been nominated for both Castel Challenge Cup 2025/26 Best Goalkeeper and Player of the Tournament awards.
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The winners of all the awards will be unveiled at the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) Annual Football Awards, scheduled to take place on March 6, 2026 at COMESA Hall in Blantyre, with four accolades are up for grabs — Player of the Tournament, Discovery of the Tournament, Best Goalkeeper, and Golden Boot winner.
The Golden Boot award has already been decided for Nyasa Big Bullets’ Maxwell Phodo Gasten, who finished with 7 goals and has also been nominated for Player of the Tournament.
Nyasulu and Mwakasinga are competing alongside Blue Eagles’ Precious Masamba for the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament, while the Discovery of the Tournament award is between Lameck Mithi of Moyale Barracks alongside Alex Msiska of Mzuzu City Hammers.
In 5 games played, Phodo Gasten scored 7 goals and was named Man of the Match 3 times while his teammate, goalkeeper Innocent Nyasulu, was one of the key performers in which he played all five matches, keeping three clean sheets and conceding just two goals in 450 minutes, highlighting his crucial role in the team’s success.
The résumé for Dedza Dynamos’ Donnex Mwakasinga for Player of the Tournament and Best Goalkeeper is that he was outstanding between the posts, guiding the team to their first-ever Castel Challenge Cup final.
He kept two clean sheets, won two Player of the Match awards, and made a crucial penalty save against Blue Eagles that helped propel the team to the final.
Blue Eagles’ Precious Masamba was solid between the posts throughout the tournament, featuring in every of their four matches played in which he kept one clean sheet and conceded three goals, playing a key role in his team’s campaign.
The résumé for Discovery of the Season, Mzuzu City Hammers’ midfielder, Alex Msiska is that he had a remarkable debut season in the elite division and was highly influential for the team, scoring two goals and playing in every match as he helped the team reach the semifinals.
In two matches he started for Moyale Barracks, midfielder Lameck Mithi made an immediate impact for the Mzuzu-based side, in which he scored two goals in the competition. His contributions helped guide Moyale Barracks to the Round of 16.
For the overall 2025 season’s awards across all elite competitions, nominees for men’s Player of the Year Award are midfielder, Chikumbutso Salima, forward Babatunde Adepoju (both Nyasa Big Bullets) along Mighty Wanderers’ goalkeeper, Dalitso Khungwa.
Chikumbutso Salima had a very impressive season, being directly involved in 26 league goals for Nyasa Big Bullets, more than any other player — in which he scored 15 goals, provided 11 assists, underlining his attacking influence. He was also instrumental in the club’s Airtel Top 8 triumph, scoring one goal in the campaign.
Babatunde enjoyed a solid campaign for the Bullets, playing a key role in their Airtel Top 8 triumph. He finished as the league’s top scorer with 15 goals, registered seven assists, and also emerged as the FDH Bank Cup top scorer, highlighting his attacking influence across competitions.
Goalkeeper Khungwa enjoyed an outstanding 2025 season, recording 17 clean sheets in the TNM Super League — and across all elite competitions, he registered 22 clean sheets, the highest tally by any goalkeeper, underlining his consistency and dominance between the posts.
As nominees for the 2025 Women’s Player of the Year Deborah Henry’s résumé include scoring 23 goals in 18 matches that played a pivotal role in guiding Silver Strikers’ Ladies to the inaugural National Bank of Malawi (NBM) Premiership title.
She was a model of consistency throughout the campaign, finding the back of the net against every team in the competition. She also made her COSAFA debut and marked the occasion in style by scoring a hat-trick, underlining her impact at both domestic and international level.
Leticia Chinyamula was instrumental for Ascent Soccer, guiding the team to a second-place finish in which she finished as the second-highest goal scorer with 17 goals; earned three Player of the Match awards; featuring in every match played by both the Young Scorchers and the senior Scorchers during the calendar year — underlining her consistency and importance at both club and national level.
Defender Ireen Khumalo was the pillar of the champions’ defensive line, featuring in 17 of 18 matches and recording nine clean sheets. Beyond her defensive solidity, she was also influential going forward, contributing to eight goals during the season.
At international level, she played every minute for the Malawi Scorchers and scored the winning goal against Angola at the COSAFA Women’s Championship, underlining her importance on both fronts.
In Women’s Young Player of the Year include Mayamiko Mkandawire, who was highly influential for Ascent Soccer in the inaugural NBM Women’s Premiership, scoring 15 goals and providing two assists.
She also won four Player of the Match awards. At international level, she scored for the Young Scorchers during the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualification campaign against Guinea-Bissau.
Her teammate, Maureen Kenneth was one of the most ever-present players in the NBM Premiership, featuring in all 18 matches. She won three Player of the Match awards, provided four assists, scored two goals, and was part of a defence that recorded 10 clean sheets during the season.
She also contributed to the Young Scorchers’ solid performances at the back, helping the team keep two clean sheets during the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualification campaign.
Kukoma Ntopwa Women’s midfielder Sarah Mlimbika was a marvel to watch in the NBM Women’s Premiership in which she he won the second-highest number of Player of the Match awards, only behind Deborah Henry.
In 16 appearances, she scored three goals and provided three assists, showcasing her all-round impact on the competition. She was also influential in the Young Scorchers’ FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualification campaign.
Women’s Coach of the Year nominees include NBM Women’s Premiership champions Silver Strikers Ladies mentor, Andrew Chikhosi, who guided the team to secure 16 wins in 18 matches in a dominant campaign. He also led the team to runners-up finish in the Goshen FAM Women’s Championship.
Nyasa Big Bullets Women and Malawi U20 Women’s coach, Maggie Chombo, is being considered for guiding the Young Scorchers to the 4th round of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers for the first time in history, achieving the milestone without suffering a defeat.
She also led FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Women to a top-four finish in the NBM Women’s Premiership, while senior Scorchers mentor, Lovemore Fazili guided the team to their first-ever qualification for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAfCON) without conceding a goal during the qualification campaign. His team played 15 matches, including 10 international friendlies.
Malawi U20’s mentor, Millias Pofera has been nominated for the Men’s Coach of the Year awards alongside Mighty Wanderers’s Bob Mpinganjira and Silver Strikers’ Peter Mgangira. Pofera was at the helm of the U20 team during the COSAFA tournament, guiding the side to the final — marking the first time in 22 years that Malawi reached the U20 COSAFA final.
Bob Mpinganjira had a wonderful season, winning 27 of 40 matches across competitions. He guided his team to the league title, suffering only one defeat throughout the campaign, and also finished as runners-up in the FDH Bank Cup.
Peter Mgangira’s first season with the Bankers was remarkable as he recorded more wins and fewer defeats than any other top-flight coach. He guided the team to victory in the Charity Shield and the FDH Bank Cup, while also securing a third-place finish in the league.
2025 Young Player of the Year nominees are Silver Strikers’ midfielder, Festus Duwe; Karonga United’s forward, Allen Chihana; and Kamuzu Barracks’ striker, Mchema John Francis. Duwe was a marvel to watch in his debut season for the Central Bankers and despite playing fewer league matches due to injury, he managed to score seven goals and provide five assists.
He also finished as the Airtel Top 8 top scorer, highlighting his impact across competitions while Allen Chihana enjoyed one of his best seasons in the elite league with Karonga United, being directly involved in 13 goals in the Super League.
He also scored in three of the four elite competitions in the country, underlining his consistency and attacking influence across tournaments while Mchema John Francis was influential for Kamuzu Barracks, scoring in every competition the team participated in.
In the league, he registered eight goals and four assists, while adding two goals in three FDH Bank Cup matches and three goals in two Castel Challenge Cup games, highlighting his consistent impact across tournaments.
Meanwhile, FAM announced that the 2026/2027 football season will officially commence on April 18, 2026 with the annual Charity Shield followed by flagship top-tier league, the FDH Bank Premiership, from April 25, 2026.
All the other competitions are scheduled to follow thereafter in accordance with the approved competition calenda in which the 2026/2027 season will conclude on March 21, 2027.
FAM indicated that the schedule forms part of its ongoing calendar transition project, aimed at shifting the domestic football cycle from the traditional March–December format to the new August–May cycle, aligning with international best practice.
Nyasa Big Bullets closed the 2025 season with two titles, the Airtel Top 8 and the Castel Challenge Cup, which they won on Saturday after beating Dedza Dynamos 2-1 at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
This was their second Castel Challenge Cup title having won the first in 2023. Hassan Kajoke’s scored two goals in the second half (57’, 79’) after a goalless first stanza while Dedza pulled one back in the 83rd minute through Chikondi Mbeta.
The Bullets reached the final after eliminating Mzuzu City Hammers, while Dedza Dynamos edged out Blue Eagles to book their historic appearance in the final.—Info from FAM Media
