Legend: Pearson Chunga–the king of the commentary box

“Welcome to Kamuzu Stadium and to the East and Central Africa Senior Soccer Challenge Cup where Malawi face traditional rivals and neighbours, Zambia… Malawi rampage onto the attack from the left. Jonathan Bille and Reuben Malola combine to set Barnet Gondwe who shoots…And it’s a goooooal! The fans have hardly settled and Malawi have taken the lead. It’s Malawi 1 Zambia nil.”

This is the excerpt of one of the many games he showed his commentary prowess on. He was what Ernest Okonkwo and Joe Lartey were to Nigeria and Ghana respectively. He was what late Dennis Liwewe was to his native Zambia.

He is Pearson Chunga, whose greatest radio commentary in his illustrious career was the football game.

Chunga’s career bloomed as strongly as his voice boomed. In the build-up to a goal, Chunga would rattle words hurriedly in his own inimitable style and cap it with a thundering hooray or a terribly glum peak, depending on whether Malawi went in front or behind as a consequence.

He possessed an extensive range of emotions while running commentary, with so much of objectivity.

His journey starts in 1966, the year England won the World Cup.

“I was on holiday at Chipstable in Zambia where my father worked. It happened that I was the only one at home and I listened to the BBC live coverage of the final between England and West Germany. All drama of that final sealed my love for soccer and passion for live soccer commentary.

“At about the same time, Zambia Broadcasting Services introduced a gentleman to soccer commentary who became a big inspiration to me. He was Dennis Liwewe,” he recalls.

But the young Chunga still had to finish secondary school at Mzuzu Secondary in 1968 before he could pursue “my passion”.

“At school the headmaster would give me a megaphone to do ‘live’ coverage of games between our school and visiting teams. It was the same when I went to Chancellor College between 1969 and 1971. I lost a girlfriend because of this habit! She felt it was too embarrassing standing next me making all that noise! Two more years later she must have been surprised to hear me on the radio,” he explains.

“The love for soccer and the passion I had to do mock ‘live’ commentaries grew very strong that I was invited to attend an audition at Kamuzu Stadium in 1971 conducted by Lucius Chikuni, but I failed! However, I was later accepted as a freelance sports presenter and producer in 1972. By the end of that December, I was offered a full-time job,” he explains.

“From this point I had the privilege of covering soccer and other sports for 13 years. It was an emotional journey that took me and my colleagues, such as Elias Kapangama, who was a master at it in Chichewa and is one of my mentors, to many countries. All my life since that 1966 World Cup final incident, I just wanted to be a commentator for football. It was no accident,” affirms Chunga.

The 67-year-old husband, father and grandfather, adds: “I was privileged to take over this job from Tony Kandiero, who really had more important things to do and I appreciated the offer. Kapangama was already a seasoned man when I joined in and later people referred to us as twins in this work! Geoffrey Msampha, Patrick Masala are the colleagues I handed work over to when I eventually left, called to serve the Lord, which led to the registering and setting up of Trans World Radio in Malawi.”

Talking about the Christian radio station, Chunga in 1984, sensing a call to fulfill God’s desire, resigned from MBC to set up Trans World Radio in Swaziland in 1992.

But while for some the game of football is but a great game, to him football is like an international language spoken by everyone everywhere.

He explains: “You can put half a million people in the same stadium, each speaking a different language and let them watch the same game. When a goal is scored, they will all shout and scream. If it is a penalty and the referee does not give it, they will all protest. It is indeed a unifying factor between enemies. Nations unite and are proud when their team does well.

“It continues to grow in its popularity all over the world especially through its back page newspapers/magazines coverage, and live radio and television broadcasts. The advent of mega professional clubs and players who perform at the highest level before big crowds as well as a worldwide television and radio audiences are only going to make the game a lot more popular.”

He spoke about some of the great matches and players he has commentated on. His greatest match he covered was the 1978 East and Central Africa Senior Soccer Challenge Cup Final between Malawi and Zambia at Kamuzu Stadium on 19 November.

“The game was extremely dramatic. It had all the marks of a well-scripted David versus Goliath drama where the home team who were underdogs took the lead and Zambia, the giant of southern Africa, equalised. Malawi scored again and just when victory was ensured, Godfrey ‘UCAR’ Chitalu equalised again, then true to the winning script Malawi got the winner in the dying minutes. The stadium burst into patriotic political songs with everyone hugging everyone! It was unforgettable,” he explained.

Over the years, he has been involved in coaching commentators as a radio trainer.

“I am in Swaziland administering a Christian Private School. I have been here for 21 years. I do plan to return home, but the time is yet to be established. When I am dead and gone I would love for people to remember me as child of God and a friend,” he ends the interview.