The Football Association of Malawi has unveiled three nominees for the 2025 Airtel Top 8 Player of the Tournament Award.
The shortlist features two players from champions FCB Nyasa Big Bullets forward Maxwell Gasten Phodo and defender Blessings Mpokera alongside Silver Strikers midfielder Festus Duwe.
The winner will be announced at a special awards ceremony to be hosted by Airtel Malawi, with the date to be confirmed in due course.
According to FAM, the nominations were selected by the Competitions Technical Study Group after an in-depth analysis of match statistics and overall performances throughout the tournament. The final winner will be decided through a voting process involving a selected group of coaches from the National Coaches Association, who were responsible for naming Player of the Match awards, together with selected sports journalists.
Briefs on the 2025 Airtel Top 8 Player of the Tournament Nominees follow.
Name: Festus Duwe
Position: Midfielder
Club: Silver Strikers
Number of games Played: 3
Number of games started: 3
MOTM: 2
Total Number of Minutes played: 252
Goals: 3
Festus Duwe was an influential player for the Central Bankers, scoring three goals to finish as the competition’s top goal scorer and winning two Player of the Match awards.
Name: Maxwell Gasten Phodo
Position: Forward
Club: FCB Nyasa Big Bullets
Number of games Played: 4
Number of games started: 2
MOTM: 1
Total Number of Minutes played: 171
Goals: 2
Despite limited playing time, Maxwell Gaston Phodo made a telling impact for FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, scoring crucial goals, including one in the final, to help the team successfully defend the title.
Name: Blessings Mpokera
Position: Defender
Club: FCB Nyasa Big Bullets
Number of games Played: 4
Number of games started: 4
MOTM: 1
Total Number of Minutes played: 360
Clean sheet: 2
Blessings Mpokera played every minute of FCB Nyasa Big Bullets’ title-winning campaign and delivered an outstanding performance at the heart of the defence. He capped his impressive run with two clean sheets against Creck SC, playing a key role as the Bullets successfully defended the championship.
