Kasungu District has now clocked four years without a football side in Malawi’s top-flight league — the FDH Bank Premiership — a situation football stakeholders say is weakening competition among local teams aspiring to reach the elite level.
The district once produced TN Stars, a side that earned promotion to the TNM Super League of Malawi in 2018 before being relegated in 2022. The team rose from the former Kasungu Medicals under the guidance of ex-Malawi National Football Team coach Meck Mwase and later received sponsorship from a district native Thomas Nyirenda, eventually rebranding to TN Stars.
Mwase says having a team in the country’s elite league played a crucial role in motivating young players and strengthening grassroots football structures in the district.
“Having a team in the top-flight league brings competition among local teams because players aspire to graduate into the bigger side. This eventually helps in player development from the grassroots level,” Mwase observes.
He adds that apart from football development, TN Stars also contributed to economic activity in the district whenever the team hosted league matches.
“When the team hosted games, businesses benefited because visiting supporters and officials needed accommodation, food, and transport services,” says coach Mwase.
Despite the current absence of a top-flight side, Mwase believes Kasungu still has the potential to produce another elite team if stakeholders unite to support grassroots football and clubs participating in Central Region competitions.
Veteran football administrator Mbena Ziliro Moyo says the morale surrounding football in the district has significantly declined compared to the days of Kasungu Medicals, Kasungu Police, Santhe Admarc, Kasungu Division, and Wimbe United.
“These teams received support which created stiff competition and helped produce quality players. Now we need collective effort to motivate existing teams so that Kasungu can once again have representation in the FDH Bank Premiership,” Moyo says.
Kasungu District Football Association chairperson Andrew Chisale also acknowledges that lack of financial support remains a major setback affecting the performance of local teams.
“We have clubs like Ergo FC, Chisomo Football Academy, and Santhe FC with talented players, but lack of resources continues to be a major bottleneck,” he notes.
Currently, Kasungu hosts four major football competitions under the Central Region Football Association namely; National Bank Championship Under-23, Castel Challenge Cup, Nisha Kasungu District Football Extravaganza funded by a local farmer and the K100 million GoJet Investments Central Region Football League.
Each of these competitions accommodates only 16 teams from the entire district, a situation stakeholders say limits exposure and competitive opportunities for emerging talent.
For years, Kasungu has been regarded as one of Malawi’s football powerhouses, producing several notable players who later starred for elite clubs and the national team.
These include Precious Phiri, Sankhani Mkandawire, China Chirwa, Stain Davie, Stuart Mbunge, Alick Zulu, and Bonface Kaulesi, all of whom rose through district football structures before making names for themselves nationally.
(China Chirwa)
Kaulesi and Zulu once featured for Silver Strikers and Red Lions after starting at Santhe Admarc, while Mkandawire, Phiri, and Mbunge played for FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, Blue Eagles, and the Malawi National Football Team after developing through Kasungu Police and Kasungu Medicals.
By Lucky Millias
#KCRsports