Mighty Wanderers fierce attacking midfielder, Isaac Kaliati won the men’s Player of the Year award during the inaugural Football Association of Malawi (FAM) Football Awards — while Ascent Soccer’s striker Leticia Chinyamula attained the women’s category.
Kaliati, who was a phenomenon in the 2024 season as he scored 27 goals in 17 matches of the TNM Super League of which 9 were assists, beat two beat their two nominees for the award: Nyasa Big Bullets Nigerian striker, Babatunde Adepoju and Silver Strikers’ goalkeeper, George Chikooka.
He won the Man of the Match awards 7 times and in the Castel Challenge Cup 2024, which the Nomads won, he scored four from six games and netted one goal from three of the Airtel Top 8 2024 — earning one Man of the Match along the way.
Leticia Chinyamula, who was not present at the awards ceremony as she is in Zambia with the Scorchers for the FIFA sanctioned friendly matches, was up against teammate, Faith Chinzimu for Ascent Soccer, the country’s very successful football academy and they were alongside Nyasa Big Bullets Women’s Tendai Sani.
Leticia — who won the inaugural Female Emerging Talent Award of the Council for the Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) 2024 — played a pivotal role in Ascent Soccer’s Central Region Goshen-FAM Women’s League in which the midfielder finished as a top goal scorer with 18 goals in 16 games played.
She also featured in three games of the Goshen-FAM National Championship 2024 which Ascent Soccer won that qualified them for their first-ever international tournament in the CAF Women’s Champions League-COSAFA qualifiers, which FAM hosted at Moira Stadium.
From four games played, Leticia scored three from a hat-trick she scored in the 9-0 win against Mauritius. She was part of the Scorchers squad that went to defend the COSAFA Women’s Championship they won in 2023 but were ousted by Zambia, whom they had beaten the previous year to clinch the title.
Ascent Soccer’s coach, Thom Mkolongo emerged the Women’s Football Coach of the Year after helping the side win 15 out of the 19 games in the 2024 season while Peter Mponda claimed the men’s category for steering Silver Strikers to their first TNM Super League title in 11 years.
Mponda is now back to Nyasa Big Bullets as the head coach, replacing Kalisto Pasuwa, who has since been engaged as Malawians national football team head coach.
The Youth Football Player of the Year went to Prince Kumwembe of Lilongwe-based Villa FC while Mzuzu City Hammers Queens striker Eneless Fabiano won the women’s category.
Silver Strikers’ defender McDonald Lameck is Young Player of the Year while Beach Soccer Player of the Year went to Isaac Kajamu of Sunbird Nkopola Beach Soccer team after scoring eight goals at the COSAFA Beach Soccer tournament and six at the Africa Cup of Nations Beach Soccer Cup.
Referees were also honored with Godfrey Nkhakananga becoming the Referee of the Year while Lameck Phiri was the Assistant Referee of the Year.
FAM president Fleetwood Haiya also presented the President’s Award to former FAM general secretary and veteran football analyst, Charles ‘Grandmaster’ Nyirenda for his dedication to football development for at least the past five decades.
The FAM Awards, sponsored by FAM, FDH Bank, Castel Malawi and World Star Betting, combined players’ awards for FDH Bank Cup, Castel Challenge Cup and in the FDH Bank Cup Awards, Wanderers striker Clement Nyondo claimed both the Golden Boot, with 13 goals in six games, and the Player of the Tournament accolade.
It was double celebration for Blue Eagles goalkeeper Joshua Waka as he won both the cup’s Goalkeeper of the Tournament and the Discovery of the Tournament accolades.
Emmanuel Allan from Moyale Barracks grabbed the Golden Boot with nine goals while Blue Eagles striker Paul Master bagged the Player of the Tournament honors.
In Castel Challenge Cup Awards, Discovery of the Tournament accolade went to giant-killers Panthers FC’s goalkeeper Precious Masamba whereas Mzuzu City Hammers Goalkeeper Chancy Mtete, who has just joined Wanderers, was the Goalkeeper of the Tournament.
Among the notable dignitaries during the awards ceremony were the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) vice-president and Djibouti Football Federation president Souleiman Hassan Waberi; Niger Football Federation president Djibrilla Hima Hamidou, Castel Malawi managing director Thomas Reynaud and FDH Bank Plc managing director Noel Mkulichi.
