In a valiant step that remained unfulfilled for many years to form a robust structured and competitive national women’s league due to lack of consistent sponsorship, Football Association of Malawi President, Fleetwood Haiya unveiled the reality of the dream by unveiling the establishment of National Bank Women’s premiership.
The first-ever national women’s football league has replaced the Regional Women’s Leagues as the top-tier competition brought about through the newly launched K1 billion National Bank of Malawi (NBM) sponsorship for both women’s and men’s competitions.
At the press conference held at Mpira Village in Limbe this morning, Haiya formally unpacked the structure and implementation plan “for the unprecedented and landmark K1 billion football sponsorship by National Bank of Malawi (NBM Plc, which was launched on June 11, 2025”.
The highlight of the sponsorship was the milestone MK280 million, which has been allocated to the National Bank National Women’s League, whose 75% has gone towards the teams of MK156.65 million (56%) as prize money and MK53.575 million (19%) as subventions.
On top of that, MK150 million will go towards the support of the Malawi national women’s football team — The Scorchers, whose details will be unveiled at a separately dedicated event.
“This landmark investment in the development of Malawian football is an extraordinary commitment from National Bank of which MK450 million has been allocated to Women’s Football, while MK500 million is earmarked for the National Bank Championship — targeting District and Division One men’s football.
Structure of the National Bank Women’s League
The newly-launched National Bank Women’s League will feature 10 teams — 3 from each of the 2024 Regional Leagues (South, Central, and North) and one additional team selected through playoffs among the fourth-placed teams from each region.
The teams that have so far qualified as seeded are FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Women, Ntopwa FC, Mighty Wanderers Queens (South); Ascent Soccer, Civil Service Women, Silver Strikers Ladies (Centre); and Moyale Sisters, MK Academy, Topik Sisters (North) — while the playoffs involve Bangwe All Stars (South), MDF Lionesses (Centre) and Mzuzu City Hammers (North).
Set to kick off on July 26, 2025, the league will be played in a double round-robin format with each team playing 18 matches — whose champions will represent Malawi in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s Champions League.
The bottom three teams will be relegated to the Regional Leagues, with the respective Regional Champions gaining promotion into the National Bank Women’s League.
Direct impact on teams
“At FAM, we are particularly pleased that over 75% of the sponsorship is directly benefiting the teams and players — through subventions, prizes, and equipment,” said Haiya, while highlighting that the champions will receive MK10 million; runners-up MK5 million and the third-placed team to get MK3 million.
Each participating team will also receive MK13 million in subvention, two full sets of uniforms, and five footballs — with individual player and media awards included in the package.
“For many years, the dream of launching a structured and competitive national women’s league remained unfulfilled due to lack of consistent sponsorship,” Haiya said. “However, under our ‘Transforming the Game’ strategy, we placed this initiative in the forefront of our development priorities.
“Today, with the support of National Bank of Malawi, that vision becomes a reality — this Women’s League will serve as the premier women’s football competition in the country; laying the foundation for increased professionalism, enhanced talent identification, and broader participation among women and girls across Malawi.”
On the part of the sponsors, Marketing and Corporate Affairs’ manager Akossa Hiwa emphasised that by investing in the National Bank Women’s National League the Bank is putting its brand where it belongs — “in the hands, hearts, and hopes of Malawians everywhere, whether in the city or in the most remote village pitch”.
“Women’s football has earned its place at the top, and NBM plc is proud to provide the platform it deserves. By supporting this league, we create a space where young girls can dream, compete, and lead, while also aligning ourselves with global ESG standards around gender inclusivity”.
