All eyes to be on Ascent Soccer in defence of Goshen-FAM National Women’s Championship set for March 14-22

* They are up against Civil Service Women (Centre); Nyasa Big Bullets Women & Ntopwa FC (South); Moyale Sisters & MK Academy (North)

*To be joined by two teams from the play-offs which will involve third-placed sides from the three leagues

* Which are Mighty Wanderers Queens (South), Silver Strikers Ladies (Centre) and Topik Sisters (North)

By Duncan Mlanjira

The Goshen-FAM National Women’s Championship 2025 is set for March 14-22 with all eyes on defending champions Ascent Soccer Women to see if they will replicate their excellent run in last year’s edition at Bingu National Stadium.

Under Thom Mkorongo, the inaugural winner of the Women’s Football Coach of the Year of FAM Football Awards — having helped Ascent to win 15 out of the 19 games in the 2024 season — the team should definitely be strategising towards the defence of the title.

It earned them their first-ever participation in international tournaments — the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League-COSAFA qualifiers and just as well, the champions this year will represent Malawi at the 2025 edition to be held later this year.

The national championship attracts eight teams, which are top two teams from each of the 2024 Goshen FAM Regional Women’s Football Leagues, plus two teams from the play-offs which will involve third-placed sides from the three leagues.

The six seeded teams that have already qualified for the competition are the defending champions Ascent Soccer from the Central Region alongside Civil Service Women; Nyasa Big Bullets Women and Ntopwa FC from the South and Moyale Sisters and MK Academy from the North.

The third-placed teams to play in the playoffs — from Friday to Sunday next week (March 14-16) at Mpira Stadium — are Mighty Wanderers Queens (South), Silver Strikers Ladies (Centre) and Topik Sisters (North), whose top two qualify for the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinals will be played on March 17-18, the semifinals on March 20 while the 3rd-place playoff and the final on March 22.

Ascent Soccer won the 2024 edition of the Goshen-FAM Championship after beating Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Lionesses 1-0 in the final played at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe — a deserving achievement for the Lilongwe-based side as they finished as runners-up during the 2023 edition following a 3-5 loss to Ntopwa Women played at Mpira Stadium.

The went on to represent Malawi at the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League-COSAFA qualifiers in which they exited at group stage after a 2-1 win over Young Buffaloes from eSwatini, 0-1 loss at the hands of Uniao Despotiva de Lichinga from Mozambique and a 2-3 loss against Gaborone United Ladies from Botswana.

The consolation Ascent Soccer had was forward Faith Chinzimu, who scored two goals from the three matches played and was named in the Best XI of the group stages.

In last year’s Goshen-FAM edition, Ascent’s winger Marium Mnenula was named as Player of the Tournament, with their mentor, Thom Mkorongo being named Coach of the Tournament.

In the international friendlies that Malawi national women’s team recently played against Zambia, which the Scorchers lost 0-2 in the first and won 3-2 in the second against a full-strength Copper Queens in preparation for the next round of the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAfCON), Ascent Soccer contributed six players.

These include two who graduated to other teams — 18-year-old Rose Kadzere, who is in her first season at French top tier club Montpellier, and Ireen Khumalo (20), who plays professionally in Malawi with Silver Strikers.

The others who made the trip to Lusaka included the current academy’s standout players, Maureen Kenneth (17), Leticia Chinyamula (18), Maggie Chivula (19) and Faith Chinzimu (18).

The victory against the Copper Queens — who had a full house that included top notch US-based Barbra Banda of Orlando Pride (the African Player of the Year 2024) and another US-based Racheal Kundananji (Bay FC) — was secured with a 18-yard strike from Kadzere and an explosive midfield run from Chinzimu.

According to Ascent Soccer’s website, Chinzimu is already garnering significant attention from Europe after turning 18 years of age in February.

Thus there is all at stake to play for in the Goshen-FAM National Championship that includes pride to represent Malawi at the 2025 CAF Women’s Champions League-COSAFA qualifiers, talent showcasing to be identified for a place in the Scorchers as well as the prize money.

A press statement from Football Association of Malawi (FAM) says the champions will receive K9 million; runners-up K5 million; 3rd placed K3 million and the 4th-placed side K2 million — with individuals prizes being K200,000 each for the Top Goal Scorer, Player of the Tournament and the Best Coach.

Other incentives include each of the eight qualifying teams receiving a subvention of K1.5 million during the quarterfinals; K1.5 million each for the four semifinalists while the three teams in the play-offs will receive a subvention of K800,000 each.