2016: The stars were brighter in football

Malawi24’s Head of Sports News, Andrew Chilapondwa takes a look at best performers in the just ended soccer season as well as Malawian athletes who are currently doing well in their respective clubs.

Player – Harvey Nkacha

He has never been given a chance to play for the Senior National team but his contributions at Kamuzu Barracks last season paid dividends as he guided the Soldiers to their first TNM Super League title in history. Few players came close to Nkacha the past year.

He finished with 8 goals in the top flight and was the key man in Kamuzu Barracks’ midfield no wonder he won the player of the month for November.

Coach – Billy Phambala

He promoted Kamuzu Barracks to the top flight football in 2012 and guided the team to Carlsberg Cup triumph in the same year. Four years later, he repeated the 2012 heroics by helping KB to first Super League title in the history of Malawi Defence Force (MDF). He was very unfortunate when he lost to Be Forward Wanderers in the inaugural FISD Cup final on 10th December last year.

One would have to either be a KB or a keen follower of the team to appreciate the enormity of Phambala’s achievement after so many unsuccessful seasons experienced by MDF teams.

Team – Kamuzu Barracks

At the start of last season, nobody gave Kamuzu Barracks a chance of winning the Super League title. However, they defied the odds to win the championship at the expense of the top gurus. They were taken as top eight contenders but when they leapfrogged Blue Eagles at the top, they cruised through to claim the title and eventually, KB became the first military team to win the championship. It was a remarkable achievement for the Soldiers who have all the reasons to make noise for achieving what seemed to be ‘mission impossible’.

Other Athletes Player – Gabadinho Mhango (Bidvest Wits) The 23 year-old Flames forward has taken South Africa’ Absa Premiership by storm following his impressive start to the season. He helped Bidvest Wits to MTN8 knockout Cup triumph and has netted goals for his side in the main flight.

He was named man of the match for his club on several occasions and if he maintains his current form, he is destined for greatness.

Womens football – Tabitha Chawinga (Kvarnvedens_IK FC, Sweden)

The 20 year old forward was very instrumental for her side’s promotion into the top flight in 2015 when she scored 43 goals in 26 appearances.

Apart from that, Chawinga was in a top form last season as she managed to score 15 goals in 21 matches in her first season in Sweden’s top flight league.

She was nominated in two categories in the Swedish League end of the season awards, 2016 Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and best forward award.