* Beating archrivals and seven-times champions, Nyasa Big Bullets, who denied them the title three times in 2016, 2019 and 2023
* This win has motivated us and I believe we can do great things this season—assistant coach McDonald Mtetemera
* However, FAM tarnishes the charity event by disrespecting Lilongwe City Mayor Councillor Peter Banda during trophy presentation
* Ordered to issue formal apology, a detailed report on the incident within 48 hours, and disciplinary action against those involved
By Duncan Mlanjira
Mighty Wanderers have finally clinched the season-opener NBS Bank Charity Shield after four attempts — and it couldn’t have come at the fine moment than beating archrivals and seven-times champions, Nyasa Big Bullets, who denied them the title three times in 2016, 2019 and 2023.
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However, organisers, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) have found themselves in contempt of protocol when they disrespected Lilongwe City Mayor, Councillor Alex Banda during trophy presentation Bingu National Stadium for reasons that are being alleged that he was not invited and was not dressed according to the event.
The disrespect of the Mayor being pulled from reaching the podium to honour to a charity happening in his own city, has been received with great condemnation from the public — including the country’s supreme sports governing body, the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture.
Mayor Alex Banda disrespected for dressing like this at a football event
In a statement, the Ministry’s Secretary, Jameson Ndalama, described the incident as “highly unprofessional and unacceptable; a serious breach of protocol” — emphasising that “respect for public officials is paramount”.
The Ministry stressed that it does not tolerate such misconduct and thus orders FAM to issue a formal apology to the Mayor, present a detailed report on the incident within 48 hours from yesterday, April 18, and to take disciplinary action against the people involved in the incident.
Meanwhile, the Nomads travel back to base a very satisfied side, as they eye their defence of the elite league armed with the NBS Bank Charity Shield 2026 after edging their rivals 1-0 through a 48th minute scored by Cameroonian striker, Sama Thiery Tanjong.
FAM Media quotes Wanderers assistant coach McDonald Mtetemera as applauding his players for the performance, saying the victory has boosted confidence ahead of the season.
His counterpart, Gilbert Chirwa accepted the defeat but remained optimistic: “We have lost the game, but the players performed well in both halves. I am confident we will improve in the upcoming matches,” he said.
In their previous meetings, Nyasa Big Bullets won 2-0 during the inaugural event in 2016 followed by 1-0 in 2019 and 2-1 in 2023. The Nomads went on to lose 3-5 in post match penalties after playing out to a 2-2 draw in regulation of the 2025 edition against Silver Strikers.
The Bullets have claimed the other Charity Shield titles in four consecutive seasons — 2016 against Wanderers 2017 against Kamuzu Barracks (3-1); 2018: Nyasa Big against Silver Strikers (3-0), 2019 against Wanderers (1-0).
The event took a two-year break in 2020 and 2021 due to the CoVID-19 pandemic, and when it resumed, the Bullets defeated Silver Strikers 1-0 in 2022, Wanderers 2-1 in 2023 and Silver 7-6 in post-match penalties after a 0-0 draw.
FAM first vice-president Christopher Madalitso Kuyera congratulated Wanderers on their triumph and applauded the quality of the match, saying: “It was an entertaining and fair contest.
“We are also pleased with the turnout,” he is quoted by FAM Media. “The ticket pricing strategy helped manage the crowd effectively. I thank NBS Bank for their continued support, as the revenue generated will assist a school project in Mzimba.”
NBS Bank representative Alfred Nhlema commended FAM for successfully staging the event, saying it was “such a colourful and smooth event”.
“As a bank, we remain committed to supporting the communities we serve,” he is quoted as saying. “The proceeds will go towards assisting a school in Mzimba facing various challenges,” he said.
Proceed proceeds from the charity-shield-2026-will-
It focuses on clean cooking solutions and renewable energy to create safer, more sustainable learning environments for girls and the FAM first vice-president, Kuyera described the attention to the-girl-child-as-
“By improving learning and living conditions for approximately 500 learners, we are not just building infrastructure — we are shaping futures, Kuyera said when NBS Bank unveiled a sponsorship-of-K100-million-
