* First beat the seasoned top flight league side 2-1 in the pre-season Sapitwa 4 tournament at Mulanje Park on March 22
* The debutantes have settled on 3rd place after Week 1 through goal difference after 8 teams claimed full three points in their openers
By Duncan Mlanjira
Ekhaya FC has opened their campaign of the TNM Super League 2025 title campaign by beating Mighty Tigers 2-0, the seasoned top flight league side they triumphed 2-1 in the pre-season Sapitwa 4 tournament at Mulanje Park on March 22.
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In their debut appearance of the top flight league, the debutantes have settled on 3rd place after Match Week 1 through goal difference after eight teams claimed full three points in their openers.
Leading the table are Dedza Dynamos following their 4-1 win over Creck Sporting Club with Kamuzu Barracks second after their 3-1 triumph of Mzuzu City Hammers, while Mighty Wanderers are 4th, as they conceded a goal in their 3-1 win over Blue Eagles.
TNM Super League 2024 champions, Silver Strikers lost 0-1 to Nyasa Big Bullets leaving them on position 10th while the People’s Team are 5th. Karonga United are 6th after their win over Civil Service United; Moyale Barracks on 7th after beating Songwe Border FC 1-0 and MAFCO on 8th beating Chitipa United 1-0.
MAFCO have repeated their record and created a new one by being the first with back-to-back season opening goal from from Yohane Malunga’s 14th minute goal against Chitipa — a feat achieved by Bernard Chimaimba’s 35th strike in 2024.
The pre-season Sapitwa 4 Season 3 tournament, whose objective is to create a platform for selected TNM Super League clubs to prepare well for upcoming season as well as to promote Mulanje District as a hot tourism destination, was participated by Nyasa Big Bullets, Creck Sporting Club, Ekhaya FC and Mighty Tigers.
Ekhaya FC
Nyasa Big Bullets won it in their first appearance since it was initiated in 2023 by beating Ekhaya FC 1-0 in the final played on March 23 after they beat Creck Sporting Club with the same margin the previous day in the semis.
In the first semifinal on Saturday, Ekhaya FC — who earned promotion into the TNM Super League after becoming Southern Region Football League 2024 champions — beat Mighty Tigers 2-1 and for the third place, Tigers beat Creck Sporting on post match penalties after drawing 1-1 in regulation time.
The competition follows two successful editions which took place in 2023 and 2024 that was both won by Bangwe All Stars, who got relegated from the top flight league in the 2024 season.
Nyasa Big Bullets’ participation added glamour to this most anticipated pre-season football tournament in Malawi, which was initiated by Super League of Malawi (SULOM) executive member, Chimwemwe Nyirenda, whose inaugural partipants were Dedza Dynamos, Mighty Tigers, Red Lions and the eventual champions Bangwe All Stars.
The second edition took place in 2024 had Bangwe All Stars defending the title against Mighty Tigers, Dedza Dynamos and Mulanje Park’s host team, FOMO FC, bing their debut appearance in the TNM Super League 2024 season but were relegated when they ended on 14th position while Bangwe finished 15th.
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The top eight honours list in the TNM Super League 2024 had Silver Strikers as champions; Mighty Wanderers as runners-up; Nyasa Big Bullets (3rd place); Mzuzu City Hammers (4th), Civil Service United (5th), Creck Sporting (6th), Karonga United (7th) and Moyale (8th).
The official opening match of the Airtel Top 8 2025 on April 12 will be the first leg between defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets and Creck Sporting Club at Kamuzu Stadium — an interesting feature after the Sapitwa 4-Season 3 tournament.
The other first legs of the tournament will be played a week later in which Mighty Wanderers will host Karonga United at Kamuzu Stadium while Mzuzu City Hammers will face Civil Service United at Mzuzu Stadium (Saturday April 19) with Silver Strikers hosting Moyale at Silver Stadium to wrap up the first leg of the quarterfinals on Monday, April 21.
Airtel Top 8 defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets
In the second legs, Karonga will host Mighty Wanderers at the Karonga Stadium on Saturday, April 26 with Creck facing Bullets at a venue to be communicated.
On Saturday May 17, Moyale will host Silver Strikers at Mzuzu Stadium and the following day Mzuzu City Hammers will face Civil Service United at a venue also yet to be communicated.
The semi-finals are scheduled on June 28 and 29 with the final set on July 12. Only Nyasa Big Bullets, Mighty Wanderers and Silver Strikers have played in all the seasons of the tournament.
Meanwhile, for Match Week 2, Ekhaya are up against Civil Service United; Blue Eagles against Songwe Border FC, Chitipa United hosting 2025 champions Silver Strikers; Mighty Tigers v Mighty Wanderers; Dedza Dynamos v Mzuzu City Hammers and an all-military side clash, Kamuzu Barracks v Moyale Barracks.
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