* Voted Man of the Match when Masters FC thrashed rock bottom of the table, Dedza Dynamos 4-0 on Sunday
* He is one of the very few surviving from the Baka City, whose rights were bought by Masters Group of companies after earning promotion from the 2nd-tier NBS Bank National Division League (NDL)
By Duncan Mlanjira
Hastings Ndau, whose overall performance earned him the Man of the Match when he helped Masters FC thrash rock bottom of the table, Dedza Dynamos 4-0 on Sunday, has become the first player to score a hat-trick in the FDH Bank Premiership 2026/2027 season.
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The 21-year-old winger was-first-on-the-scoresheet-against-Dedza-Dynamos-at-Bingu-National-Stadium before assisting Enock Kaonga to make it 2-0 nine minutes later and earned his brace after the break and his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 81st.
He is one of the very few surviving from the Baka City, whose rights were bought by Masters Group of companies after earning promotion from the 2nd-tier NBS Bank National Division League (NDL).
On its website, when announcing Ndau’s achievement, Super League of Malawi (SULOM) indicated that when Masters Group announced that it has acquired the super league status of Baka City, questions started flying all over around — that included: ‘will the new owners retain the players that guided Baka to super league promotion; who will be the head coach?; will the team still be based in Karonga?’
With five games played so far in the 2026-27 season, almost all those questions — that the team will be playing its home games at Bingu National Stadium and Peter Mponda was named as head coach, months after leaving Nyasa Big Bullets.
“However, the question that is yet to be fully answered is on the status of players that guided the team to super league promotion,” says SULOM. “With five games played, one name seems to be a darling on the starting list of coach Peter Mponda.
“That name is that of Hastings Ndau who has so far started all the five games the team has played this season [and] the 21-year-old winger has been a marvel to watch with his exhilarating pace making him stand out among the rest.”
“One of the very few survivors from Baka City exodus, the former player for Songwe Boarder United has made his intentions clear that he wants to keep the Baka City legacy going,” says SULOM, while indicating that coach Mponda made a wholesale of changes at the start of the season as he was building a team worth competing in the super league.
With five games played, Masters FC lead the log table with 12 points from four wins and one loss — against Silver Strikers, who are coach Peter Mponda’s employees before returning to the Bullets where he was later fired.
“As for Ndau, he has now made himself available as one of the leading contenders for the Golden Boot accolade of the 2026-27 season,” says SULOM which has entered into a MK40 million partnership agreement with Malawi Gaming & Lotteries Authority (MAGLA) to sponsor the FDH Bank Premiership Goal of the Month and Save of the Month awards.
Under the agreement, outstanding goals and saves in the league will be rewarded with monthly prizes of K1 million each throughout the season — a partnership which SULOM vice-president Ronald Chiwaula says it is a demonstration of confidence in Malawian football.
He indicated that the initiative “will encourage creativity, discipline, hard work and professionalism among players and goalkeepers alike” — while MAGLA Director General, Muchanankhwaye Mpuluka said: “This partnership gives us an opportunity to support an initiative that recognises outstanding performance in Malawian football while at the same time advancing important public awareness messages on responsible gambling.
“Beyond rewarding performance, this sponsorship is also about supporting and encouraging local talent. The FDH Bank Premiership is the most followed sport and this provides a unique and powerful platform for engagement with the public.”
According to both parties, the initiative is expected to add excitement among fans and players alike as the race for individual monthly accolades intensifies across the season.
“SULOM continues to strengthen partnerships aimed at growing the commercial value and competitiveness of the FDH Bank Premiership league,” says the elite league governing body.
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