Chawinga sisters Tabitha and Temwa only final nominees for the Malawi Sport Award 2024 Sports Woman of the Year

* Along with National Team of the Year that has gone to only the Under-21 netball Under 19 women’s cricket team

* Paralympic Mphatso Saukile once more nominated for Sportsman of the Year with Disability alongside Moses Misoya and Victor Chikuse in Special Olympics

* As public digital voting portal is opened today; awards.malawisport.mw up to February 25

By Duncan Mlanjira

After a rigorous selection process that began in November last year, final nominees of the annual Malawi Sport Awards have been officially announced today, February 10 for the public to vote for the winners who have made their mark on the sports arena in 2024.

The digital voting portal; awards.malawisport.mw, has been opened from today up to February 25 for the public to vote, which carries 30% strength with the other 70% to be for the final judges — whose winners will be unveiled at a gala night on February 28 at Sunbird Nkopola in Mangochi.

Notable are the Chawinga sisters, Tabitha and Temwa, who are the only final nominees for the Sports Woman of the Year as well as National Team of the Year award that has gone to only Under-21 netball Under 19 women’s cricket team.

Paralympic Mphatso Saukile, who took the award last year, has once more been nominated for Sportsman of the Year with Disability alongside Moses Misoya and Victor Chikuse in Special Olympics.

Sportswoman of the Year with Disability is considered for Estere Nagoli (Para-athlete); Nancy Verani (Special Olympics) and Taonere Banda (Para-athlete).

Sportsman of the Year nominees are Rodgers Zako (darts); Samil Mohammad Sohail (cricket) and bodybuilder Zacheus Phiri.

Nominees for Junior Male Sportsperson of the Year are Alipo Namangale (chess), Suhail Zahid Vayani (cricket) and Tasunje Mkavea (swimming) while the for the female category are Eneless Fabiano (football), Eva kabwere (cricket) and Samatha Mwamondwe (karate).

For mentoring Silver Strikers to their triumph of the TNM Super League, Peter Mponda has been considered for the Coach of the Year alongside cricket’s Gershom Masimba Mtambalika and netball’s Christina Mkwanda.

For Sports Association of the Year, fans can consider chess, cricket and netball while chess has also been nominated for its Chess in Schools as the Best executed sport development program of the year, alongside junior golf and Mpira m’mudzi Mwathu — while Sports Administrator of the Year nominees are Joseph Kawelama (karate), Joe Zangazanga (darts) and Vitumbiko Gubuduza (netball).

Also considered for their contributions towards the glamour of sports are the media practitioners, whose nominees for Sports Journalist of the Year (print) are Mphatso Malidadi & Peter Fote (both of Times Group) and Nation Publications’ Solomon Manda).

Nominees for Sports Journalist of the Year (electronic) are Bright Kanyama (Zodiak) Raymond Siyaya (Chanco Community Radio) and TV Islam’s Yasin Limu.

The selection process started with sports associations identifying whom they considered as having performed to their best capability with a strong vote of attaining an international award.

Then a panel comprising members of sports writers association analysised the nominations and selected their best which were then scrutinised by an adjudication committee that came up with the final three in each category for the public to vote for.

A member of the adjudication committee, Charles Ulaya said they underwent an enormous challenge but interesting in the manner some of the sports associations indicated as résumés for their nominees.

He said they noticed that some associations just forward names just because an athlete had participated at an international tournament even if they came back with nothing to show for it in terms of medals.

“Sports associations need to distinguish that attending an international tournament is not an achievement on its own, you need to come back with a medal,” he said. “Malawi is not just a participating country, we need to compete for honours at every tournament.”

He, however, acknowledged that several associations were exemplary in the way they presented their nominees and encouraged that going forward, sports administrators need to accumulate and store data for their athletes’ performances for quick reference to in times of selecting nominees.

Meanwhile, Malawi National Council of Sports, director of planning, marketing & infrastructure development, Limbani Cliff Matola, who is chairperson of the Malawi Sport Awards organising committee, assured that they will provide the résumés of all nominees for the public to make informed choices on who the winner should be.