* Nyasa Big Bullets won the tournament in their first appearance since it was initiated in 2023 by beating Ekhaya FC 1-0 in the final on Sunday
* After beating Lilongwe-based Creck Sporting Club with the same margin the previous day in the semifinals
By Duncan Mlanjira
The two-day Sapitwa 4-Season 3 at Mulanje Park, which was won by Nyasa Big Bullets on Sunday, attracted a huge patronage of over 9,500 fans and raised gross revenue of K13.368 million.
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The match was broadcast live on MBC TV, MBC TV 2 On-the-GO and MBC Radio 2 FM and attracted 395,000 viewership on TV, 980,000 on radio and 456,000 on Facebook.
The objective of the much-anticipated pre-season tournament 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 — which it did as 99% of the hotels and lodges were fully occupied.
Nyasa Big Bullets won the tournament in their first appearance since it was initiated in 2023 by beating Ekhaya FC 1-0 in the final played on Sunday after beating 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.
For the third place, Tigers beat Creck Sporting on post match penalties after drawing 1-1 in regulation time.
Intriguing package of the Sapitwa 4 was the match between Mighty Tigers and Ekhaya FC as the two teams will be up against each other in their opening match of the TNM Super League 2025 title campaign to be played on April 6 at Kamuzu Stadium.
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 that gives a chance to football supporters to watch pre-season soccer matches.
The Sapitwa 4 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.
Previous champions Bangwe All Stars
The 2024 season was FOMO FC’s debut appearance in the TNM Super League, but were relegated when they ended on 14th position while Bangwe finished 15th.
Nyasa Big Bullets finished last season on 3rd place; Creck Sporting on 6th while Mighty Tigers were 12th and for being in the top eight, Nyasa Big Bullets and Creck Sporting earned their place for the Airtel Top 8 2025.
The People’s Team — who won the TNM Super League for five consecutive season up to 2023 — open the 2025 title campaign against the 2024 champions, Silver Strikers on April 6 while Creck Sporting will face Dedza Dynamos.
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Meanwhile, the 2025 season opener, the NBS Bank-FAM Charity Shield, will be between TNM Super League 2024 champions, Silver Striker against their runners-up and Castel Challenge Cup 2024 title holders, Mighty Wanderers this Saturday at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe — leaving 7-time winners Nyasa Big Bullets out of the picture.
Nyasa Big Bullets won their 7th FAM-NBS Bank Charity Shield beating the then their league runners-up Silver Strikers 7-6 after a pulsating 0-0 draw in regulation time.
The FAM Charity Shield, played between champions and runners-up of the TNM Super League, kicks off every football season since 2016 as FAM’s flagship corporate social responsibility (CSR) program that mobilises the Beautiful Game’s fraternity and the public to raise funds and awareness towards a charitable cause of national significance.
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