Festus Duwe stands on the brink of history as the frontrunner for the 2025 Airtel Top 8 Golden Boot, heading into the tournament final this Sunday with three goals to his name.
The Silver Strikers forward opened his account in their 1-0 home victory over Moyale Barracks before netting a brace in the 3-1 away leg win, making him the tournament’s top scorer so far.
With Alfred Chizinga of Karonga United out of contention following his team’s semi-final exit, Duwe’s main competition now comes from within his own club and their final opponents, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets.
Six players namely; Stain Davie, Nickson Mwase, and Emmanuel Allan from Silver Strikers, along with Maxwell Gasten Phodo, Hassan Kajoke, and Chikumbutso Salima from Bullets,each have one goal. For any of them to overtake Duwe, they would need to score a hat-trick in the final, provided Duwe fails to add to his tally. A two-goal performance without a Duwe response would result in a shared Golden Boot title.
Despite the excitement surrounding this year’s race, the all-time Airtel Top 8 scoring record remains firmly held by Babatunde Adepoju. The Nigerian striker netted an unmatched nine goals across his appearances, including an incredible eight-goal haul during the 2021 campaign and an additional goal in 2022 to cement his legacy.
Since its inception in 2017, the Airtel Top 8 has traditionally seen low-scoring Golden Boot winners. The inaugural award went to Khumbo Ng’ambi in 2017 with three goals, followed by Joseph Kamwendo (two goals in 2018), Khuda Muyaba (two goals in 2019), Lanjesi Nkhoma (two goals in 2023, shared), and Chinsinsi Maonga (three goals in 2024).
With just one match remaining, all eyes will be on Duwe to see if he can secure the Golden Boot and perhaps begin his own chase of Babatunde’s towering record — or if Sunday’s final will deliver a surprise from an unexpected hero.
