Football Association of Malawi has released a list of nominees for the 2024 FDH Bank Cup individual players awards.
The four awards up for grabs are the Player of the Tournament, Discovery of the Tournament, Best Goalkeeper, and Top goal scorer.
The top goal scorer was already claimed by Moyale FC striker Emmanuel Allan who scored nine goals.
FCB Nyasa Big Bullets striker Babatunde Adepoju will compete with Blue Eagles duo Joshua Waka and Paul Master for the player of the tournament award.
The three nominees for the goalkeeper of the tournament are FCB Nyasa Big Bullets stopper Richard Chimbamba, Moyale goalie Olyce Nkhwazi and Joshua Waka of Blue Eagles FC.
Waka has also been nominated for the Discovery of the Tournament award alongside teammate Andrew Juvinala and Lube Masters Raffick Kabwazi.
The winners will be crowned at the inaugural FAM Annual Football Awards, set to take place on February 21, 2025, at Sunbird Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre
Player of the Tournament
Name: Joshua Waka
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Blue Eagles FC
Number of games Played: 5
Number of games started: 3
Total Minutes played: 276
Cleansheets:5
Blue Eagles defied the olds to become a lower League team to win a national championship in many years. One of the outstanding players in the campaign was goalkeeper Joshua Waka who featured in all the matches and did not concede a goal. He saved penalties in the wins against Santhe and Silver Strikers as well as the final against FCB Nyasa Big Bullets.
Name: Paul Master
Position: Defender
Club: Blue Eagles
Number of games Played: 5
Number of games started: 5
Total Minutes played: 450
Goals: 1
Paul Master was ever present in the campaign playing every minute during the competition leading the Eagles defence as they finished the campaign without conceding a goal. He also found the target in the team’s win over Baka City in the quarterfinals.
Name: Babatunde Adepoju
Position: Striker
Club: FCB Nyasa Big Bullets
Number of games Played: 5
Number of games started: 5
Total Minutes played: 395
Goals: 4
Babatunde Adepoju had a descent campaign for FCB Nyasa Big Bullets as they reached the FDH Bank Cup final for the third successive year. He played all the five matches leading to the final match scoring four goals in the process. He scored a double as Bullets beat rivals Wanderers in the round of 16.
Goalkeeper of the Tournament
Name: Joshua Waka
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Blue Eagles FC
Number of games Played: 5
Number of games started: 3
Total Minutes played: 276
Clean sheets: 5
(Brief as above)
Name: Richard Chimbamba
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: FCB Nyasa Big Bullets
Number of games Played: 4
Number of games started: 4
Total Number of Minutes played: 360
Cleansheets: 2
Richard Chimbamba had a descent campaign for the two-time winners keeping two clean sheets in the quarterfinals against Civil Service United and the final against Blue Eagles.
Name: Olyce Nkhwazi
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Moyale Barracks
Number of games Played: 4
Number of games started: 4
Total Number of Minutes played: 360
Cleansheets: 1
Nkhwazi was one of the best goalkeepers in the tournament as he played a big role in Moyale’s run to the semifinals where they lost to FCB Nyasa Big Bullets. His biggest moment was in the round of 16 against Dedza Dynamos when he saved two penalties and scored the winning penalty.
Discovery of the season
Name: Raffick Kabwazi
Position: Striker
Club: Lube Masters
Number of games Played: 3
Number of games started: 3
Total Number of Minutes played: 270
Goals: 3
Apart from Blue Eagles, Lube Masters were the other non-Super League side that had a good run in the competition as they reached the quarterfinals. Kabwazi was on of the key players for the team as he scored a goal each in all the three matches he played.
Name: Joshua Waka
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Blue Eagles FC
Number of games Played: 5
Number of games started: 3
Total Minutes played: 276
Cleansheets:5
(Brief as above)
Name: Andrew Juvinala
Position: Defender
Club: Blue Eagles FC
Number of games Played: 5
Number of games started: 5
Total Minutes played: 450
The Youngster who was poached from Scors Fc in the Under 20 League had a great season for the Eagles across all competitions. He played every minute of the campaign forming part of the strong Eagles wall at the back.
ENDS-
For further information please contact:
FAM Communications Department
Email: communications@fam.mw
