* As the TNM Super League 2024 champions themselves are nominated for Best Male Football Team of the Year
* Voting lines opened yesterday to run till Saturday, December 14 by dialing *364# on both Airtel and TNM or through online; eoy.mbc.mw
By Duncan Mlanjira
On his debut season as coach of Silver Strikers, coach Peter Mponda has won the TNM Super League 2024 earning him nomination for the Sports Personality of the Year in the MBC Entertainers of the Year Awards.
Advertisement
Also nominated as Sports Personality of the Year is Mighty Wanderers’ Isaac Kaliati, who is Golden Boot winner of the TNM Super League 2024 season with 17 goals and the third nominee is MBC’s sports journalist & and football commentator, Frank Kandu.
Silver Strikers, who won the league after an 11-year wait, have been nominated as the Best Male Football Team alongside runners-up Mighty Wanderers and 3rd-placed Nyasa Big Bullets.
Voting lines for all categories and others were opened yesterday to run till Saturday, December 14 by dialing *364# on both Airtel and TNM or through online; eoy.mbc.mw
The voting lines will close at 18h00, just ahead of the Gala Night of the MBC Entertainers of the Year 2024 to take place same Saturday, at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe.
Meanwhile, Silver Strikers, Mighty Wanderers and Creck Sporting Club are the only teams that produced the top goal assist providers of the TNM Super League 2024, with the Bankers duo of McDonald Lameck and Uchizi Vunga having 10 each — in 29 games for Lameck and 26 for Vunga.
A trio from runners-up Mighty Wanderers assisted nine goals each; Gaddi Chirwa (in 25 games), Stanley Sanudi (27) and Isaac Kaliati (27) — who emerged as the golden Boot winner with 17 goals.
Isaac Kaliati
Creck Sporting’s Hadji Wali recorded eight assists in 27 games while his teammate George Chaomba had seven in 29 games and also is runner-up as top goal scorer with 12 goals, tying with Kamuzu Barracks’ Zeliat Nkhoma in 21 games played.
Five of Ramadhan Ntafu’s goals are from penalties and is joined as one of penalty specialists alongside Zeliat Nkhoma (4), Moyale’s Emmanuel Allan (3) and two each from Babatunde, Frank Phiri (Creck SC), Tambulani Mwale (Baka FC) and Isaac Msiska (Mzuzu City Hammers).
With 18 clean sheets, Silver Strikers’ goalkeeper George Chikooka is the Golden Glove winner, ahead with 5 clean sheets from Mighty Tigers’ Lucky Tizola (13); 6 from Karonga United’s Maclean Mwale (11) and 7 from Dedza Dynamos’ Donnex Mwakasinga (10).
With 8 clean sheets each are Chancy Mtete (Mzuzu City Hammers) and William Thole (Mighty Wanderers) while MAFCO’s Christopher Mikuwa, Kamuzu Barracks’ Hastings Banda and Nyasa Big Bullets’ Innocent Nyasulu share 7 each.
Chikooka, who conceded two goals in the Bankers 5-2 victory over Dedza Dynamos, is a revelation player of the season, who was roped in from Chitipa United at the beginning of the season and his exceptional performance merited him into the national team in both the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) 2025 qualifiers.
In the TNM Super League 2024, he has earned himself a number of Player of the Match awards and his clean sheets helped Silver Strikers to clinch the title for the first time since 2023, in which they only lost one match in 30 games after they were beaten 1-0 by Mulanje-based FOMO FC last Wednesday at Mulanje Park.
The Bankers won 19 games, drew 10 ending the season as the top scoring team at 58 in which they conceded 17 while runners-up Mighty Wanderers follow behind with 57 goals scored and 19 conceded from their 17 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses.
He didn’t play in the 0-1 loss to FOMO FC as coach Peter Mponda trusted the hands of Charles Thom, who conceded the goal in the 84th minute.
Advertisement
Third-placed Nyasa Big Bullets, who are last season’s champions, which was their 5th in five consecutive year, won 14 matches, drew 13 and lost 3 in which they scored 42 and conceded 20.
The 1-0 win over the champions last Wednesday, breathed a new life for FOMO to avoid relegation was they needed to beat Karonga United in the last game.
Ahead of the match on Saturday, FOMO were on the safe 13th place with 28 points but they drew 0-0 at home, Mulanje Park to end with 29 points while Chitipa United beat the already relegated Baka City 3-1 to accumulate maximum 29 points.
The tie was separated by goal difference as Chitipa United scored 35 and conceded 43 making a difference of -11 while FOMO scored 20 and conceded 38 — a difference of -18.
Also relegated are Bangwe All Stars who had 27 points ahead of their last match against Creck Sporting Club, which if they had won would have kept them in the top flight league but they lost 1-4.
For the next season, the Southern Region will have two teams less after the exit of FOMO and Bangwe All Stars leaving the stage for three representatives to contest for the TNM Super League 2025 title — Mighty Wanderers, Nyasa Big Bullets and Mighty Tigers.
The 2025 season will be dominated by Central Region with six teams; Silver Strikers, Civil Service United, Creck Sporting (in their second season in the top flight), MAFCO, Kamuzu Barracks and Dedza Dynamos.
The North will be represented by three teams Mzuzu City Hammers, Karonga United and Chitipa United.
Advertisement
Teams to contest for the Airtel Top 8 2025 are the champions Silver Strikers, runners-up Mighty Wanderers, 2024 champions Nyasa Big Bullets (3rd place), Mzuzu City Hammers (4), Civil Service United (5), Creck Sporting (6), Karonga United (7) and Moyale (8).
Moyale tied on 39 points with MAFCO but were separated by goal difference as Moyale scored 30 and conceded 27, a goal difference of 3 while MAFCO also scored 30 but conceded 39 (-9).
Winning the TNM Super League is a huge relief on the part of Silver Strikers, who missed out on three lucrative cup competitions; the FDH Bank Cup — in which they were booted out by two second tier Chipiku Central Region League sides, Blue Eagles and little known Panthers FC as well as losing in the final of the Airtel Top 8 2024 to defending champions, Nyasa Big Bullets.
Bullets, Airtel Top 8 2024 champions
Since 1986, Bankers have won the Super League nine times: 1993; 1994; 1995/1996; 2008; 2009/2010; 2011/2012; 2012/2013; 2013/2014 and 2024.
The highest winners since 1986 are Nyasa Big Bullets: 1986; 1991; 1992; before 7 consecutive wins in 1998/1999; 1999/2000; 2000/2001; 2001/2002; 2002/2003; 2004; 2005/2006.
They then had a break and clinched it 2014 defended it in 2015 and after a two-year break, they won it for another five consecutive seasons (2018, 2019, 2020/2021, 2022 and 2023.
Mighty Wanderers have won it six times (1990; 1995; 1996/1997; 1997/1998; 2006 and 2017) while other champions are Civo United (1987); defunct MDC United (1988); Tigers FC (1989) and also defuncted ESCOM United (2007 & 2010/2011).
ESCOM United holds the record of being unbeaten in a season that was set in 2009/10 (W15, D13, L0) but surprisingly, they finished that season in second place while at W18, D10, L0 before the 0-1 loss against FOMO last Wednesday, Silver Strikers had won the title with two games in hand.
