* With history, pride, and progression on the line, the tie promises to be one of the standout quarter-final clashes
* As the Cowboys aim high in the competition they are participating in just their second season in the elite football
* While Nyasa Big Bullets head into the competition as the most successful club in Airtel Top 8 historically having won the title four times (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025)
By Duncan Mlanjira
Ekhaya FC take cognizance that their first-ever participation in the Airtel Top 8 and against Nyasa Big Bullets — a team that have long dominated the competition — is set to be described as “a compelling narrative of the country’s top flight football”.
The two teams face each other for the first leg of the 2026 edition at Bingu National Stadium from 17h00 on Saturday, June 13, after another clash at the same venue kicking off at 14:00 between Blue Eagles and Civil Service United.
“With history, pride, and progression on the line, this tie promises to be one of the standout [quarterfinal] clashes as Ekhaya FC look to test themselves against the country’s most dominant force,” says the team on its website; ekhayafc.com — in reference to the Bullets being the most successful club in Airtel Top 8 historically having won the title four times (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025).
The Cowboys aim high in the competition they are participating in just their second season in the elite super league, in which they finished 7th in their debut appearance in 2025 and are currently 5th while the Bullets are 6th — with both sharing 10 points each.
Ekhaya have picked themselves up having stumbled in opening matches of the top flight super league, now rebranded to FDH Bank Premiership, and secured the 5th place after beating Masters FC 2-0 — a feat which the Club Media describes as “a statement performance [which has given the team high confidence]”.
In applauding his players for their dominant display against Masters FC last weekend, Ekhaya’s interim head coach, Fundi Akidu told the Club Media that the game “may not have looked like a tough match, but that’s only because the boys played as a team”.
“It was a difficult game, they just made it look easy. They stayed in control and were on top of Masters FC,” he said, while the Club Media summed it up by describing that the performance “was built on control, intensity, and ruthless efficiency, who dictated the tempo from early stages and never allowed Masters FC to settle into their rhythm”.
The return leg of the Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal will be at Mpira Stadium, whose winners will face winners of the encounter between Mighty Wanderers and Creck Sporting Club to be played on Sunday, June 14, at Zomba Stadium.
Creck and Wanderers have already met in the FDH Bank Premiership in which the Nomads won 2-1 playing away while Zomba Stadium is also earmarked as their home venue, while the return leg is set for July 12, at Aubrey Dimba Stadium in Mchinji.
Winners of the first between Civil Service United and Blue Eagles will face winners of Silver Strikers and Karonga United for the one leg knockout semifinals.
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Nyasa Big Bullets won the Airtel Top 8 2025 title when they beat the same opponents they faced in 2024, Silver Strikers, and winning it for the third consecutive editions — which was their 4th title in eight years since its inception in 2017 — which was won by Silver Strikers and the champions being Blue Eagles (2018) and Mighty Wanderers (2022).
Last season Golden Boot award went to Silver’s Festus Duwe with three goals, who was not featured in the final due to injury. Duwe’s three goals as top scorer was way behind that for the all-time Airtel Top 8 scoring record achieved by Nigerian Babatunde Adepoju — who netted an unmatched nine goals across his appearances, including an incredible eight-goal haul during the 2021 campaign.
Since its inception in 2017, the Airtel Top 8 has traditionally seen low-scoring Golden Boot winners as the inaugural award went to Khumbo Ng’ambi in 2017 with three goals, followed by Joseph Kamwendo (two goals in 2018), Khuda Muyaba (two goals in 2019), Lanjesi Nkhoma (two goals in 2023, shared), and Chinsinsi Maonga (three goals in 2024).
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