* The COSAFA Most Promising Player of the Year 2024 award winner is alongside teammate Faith Chinzimu and Nyasa Big Bullets Women’s Tendai Sani
* Ascent mentor Thom Mkolongo has also been nominated for Coach of the Year alongside Nyasa Big Bullets’ Maggie Chombo Sadik and Linda Kasenda of Civil Service Women
* While men’s category has Isaac Kaliati (Mighty Wanderers); Babatunde Adepoju(Nyasa Big Bullets) and George Chikooka (Silver Strikers)
By Duncan Mlanjira
The country’s very successful football academy, Lilongwe-based Ascent Soccer, has contributed two women football players, Leticia Chinyamula and Faith Chinzimu for the inaugural annual FAM Football Awards to be held on February 21, 2025, at Sunbird Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre.
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They are alongside Nyasa Big Bullets Women’s Tendai Sani while in the men’s category, the nominees are attacking midfielder for Mighty Wanderers, Isaac Kaliati, Nyasa Big Bullets Nigerian striker, Babatunde Adepoju and Silver Strikers’ goalkeeper, George Chikooka.
In her resume prepared by the Football Association of Malawi (FAM), Leticia — who won the inaugural Female Emerging Talent Award of the Council for the Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) 2024 — played a pivotal role in Ascent Soccer’s Central Region Goshen-FAM Women’s League in which the midfielder finished as a top goal scorer with 18 goals in 16 games played.
She also featured in three games of the Goshen-FAM National Championship 2024 which Ascent Soccer won that qualified them for their first-ever international tournament in the CAF Women’s Champions League-COSAFA qualifiers, which FAM hosted at Moira Stadium.
From four games played, Leticia scored three from a hat-trick she scored in the 9-0 win against Mauritius.
She was part of the Scorchers squad that went to defend the COSAFA Women’s Championship they won in 2023 but were ousted by Zambia, whom they had beaten the previous year to clinch the title.
Her teammate at Ascent Soccer, midfielder Faith Chinzimu, scored 11 goals in the 16 games played of the Central Region Goshen-FAM Women’s League; also featured in all three of the Goshen-FAM National Championship 2024.
At the COSAFA Women’s Championship 2024, she scored a goal from four games she was featured while in the CAF Women’s Champions League-COSAFA qualifiers, she scored two in three games played.
“She was a marvel to watch in the CAF Women’s Champions League-COSAFA qualifiers though her team didn’t make it to the knockout stage,” acknowledges FAM in her resume.
Faith Chinzimu (right)
As for Nyasa Big Bullets’ striker, Tendai Sani, she scored 59 goals from 18 of the Southern Region Goshen-FAM Women’s League 2024, finishing as the top goal scorer.
It was the highest record across all the three regions, helping her team to take back regional championship from Kukoma Ntopwa, who won last season.
She was also part of the Scorchers squad that participated in the COSAFA Women’s Championship 2024 — the first time for her to make it into the final squad after missing out in the 2023 squad and she was featured in three of the four matches that the team played, starting two matches.
Ascent Soccer’s coach, Thom Mkolongo has also been nominated for the FAM Football Awards Women’s Coach of the Year alongside Nyasa Big Bullets Women’s Maggie Chombo Sadik and Linda Kasenda of Civil Service Women.
In the men’s category, Mighty Wanderers attacking midfielder, Isaac Kaliati was a phenomenon in the 2024 season as he scored 27 goals in 17 matches of the TNM Super League of which 9 were assist.
He won the Man of the Match awards 7 times and in the Castel Challenge Cup 2024, which the Nomads won, he scored four from six games and netted one goal from three of the Airtel Top 8 2024 — earning one Man of the Match along the way.
“Isaac Kaliati was a key player for Wanderers in the Castel Challenge title winning campaign, playing every match as they clinched the title,” acknowledges FAM in his resume.
“In an outstanding 2024 season, he scored four goals in the Castel Challenge Cup, notched 17 goals in the TNM Super League to win the Golden Boot, registered nine assists, and finished as the team’s leading scorer across all competitions.”
Nigerian striker, Babatunde Adepoju played a key role in Nyasa Big Bullets’ third consecutive FDH Bank Cup triumph in which he was featured in all five matches leading to the final, scoring four goals.
In the TNM Super League, he netted 10 times and registered 6 assists and overall, Babatunde was directly involved in 23 goals across 36 matches for Bullets.
He won Man of the Match awards twice in FDH Bank Cup campaign and two of them in the TNM Super League.
Goalkeeper George Chikooka enjoyed an impressive run in the season that led to the Bankers clinching the TNM Super League after a 11-year dry spell.
Chikooka outstanding 2024 season included recording 18 clean sheets in the TNM Super League and contributing 2 assists and standing out as the goalkeeper with most clean sheets in all elite competitions — including two Man of the Match awards in the League.
In the men’s category, coach Peter Mponda, who mentored Silver Strikers to win the TNM Super League title, has been nominee as Coach of the Year alongside Eliya Kananji of Blue Eagles and Kalisto Pasuwa for Nyasa Big Bullets, who since left the People’s Team.
Pasuwa was replaced at the Bullets by his former deputy, Peter Mponda and has since been appointed by FAM as head coach for the senior Malawi national team, the Flames.
FAM partnered with Castel Malawi and FDH Bank for the inaugural FAM Football Awards. Castel Malawi’s head of corporate marketing & communications, Lavern Chitakata, told Fam.mw that they consider the awards “as an investment in Malawian football to help in talent development, professionalism, and competitiveness”.
“The reason we introduced the Castel Challenge Cup nationwide is for that exact reason — to promote Malawian football from the grassroots level,”she said. “We are a brand associated with fun in communities, so we would like to recognise excellence among players to contribute to raising the standard of the sport while strengthening its deep connection with the community.”
On their part, senior marketing manager for FDH Financial Holdings, Ronald Chimchere, emphasised their dedication to ensuring the success of the awards: “As FDH Bank Cup sponsor, our goal is to see the inaugural sports awards succeed, and we will work with FAM to ensure the athletes are celebrated in the right way.
“The awards will be bigger and better with combined effort; this will provide a massive platform to celebrate the deserving athletes from the 2024 FDH Bank Cup season.”
FAM marketing & broadcasting manager, Tulipo Mwenelupembe expressed gratitude to FDH Bank and Castel Malawi for their partnership: “We deeply appreciate their commitment and partnership in making this event a reality.
“As FAM, we are dedicated to delivering value and executing a memorable experience for our partners, football stakeholders, and, most importantly, our fans. We look forward to more partnerships for this event,” he is quoted as saying.
The awards will recognize outstanding performances across various football categories, as well as honouring exceptional performances from the FDH Bank Cup 2024 and the Castel Challenge Cup 2024.
The four awards up for grabs from the FDH Bank Cup 2024 are Player of the Tournament, Discovery of the Tournament, Best Goalkeeper, and Top Goal Scorer.
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The top goal scorer was already claimed by Moyale FC striker Emmanuel Allan who scored nine while Nyasa Big Bullets’ Babatunde will compete with Blue Eagles duo Joshua Waka and Paul Master for the Player of the Tournament award.
The three nominees for the goalkeeper of the tournament are Nyasa Big Bullets stopper Richard Chimbamba, Moyale’s Olyce Nkhwazi and Joshua Waka of Blue Eagles FC.
Waka has also been nominated for the Discovery of the Tournament award alongside teammate Andrew Juvinala and Lube Masters Raffick Kabwazi.
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