Mighty Mukuru Wanderers president Thomson Mpinganjira says he is convinced that interim coach Bob ‘Mpulumutsi’ Mpinganjira is the only local coach that can guide the Nomads in the 2025 season.
He said this on New Year’s Eve on the sidelines of the Wanderers Presidential Ball, held at Makoli Restaurant in Bvumbwe, Thyolo to honour the Nomads’ outstanding performers in the 2024 season.
The coach led Wanderers to 2024 Castel Challenge Cup glory following a 1-0 victory over Mzuzu City Hammers at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on December 23 and guided the Nomads to second place in the TNM Super League after replacing coach Meck Mwase, who resigned midway the second half of the season.
Said the business tycoon: “We have not decided yet but if we are going to have a Malawian coach, then it will be Bob Mpinganjira.
“If it is not him, then we will get someone from outside the country to guide the team in the 2025 season because at the moment, I do not see a coach who can do better than Bob. He has given us the Castel Cup and it was just towards the end of the season.”
He said Wanderers will look at investing in the club’s former striker by sending him for training even in Europe.
“When we get foreign coaches, they come here as mercenaries. Within just a month, they want to resign and go. Therefore, we want to develop local talent. Bob might be lucky that we might send him out for training or secondment in Africa or Europe. However, we haven’t decided what to do. When we do, we will announce it to the nation,” said Mpinganjira.
The club president, who was accompanied by his wife Triephornia and daughter Annabel, also warned some players that they risk expulsion if they continue misbehaving.
“There are some players who think that they are better or more senior. We had at least two incidents where they tried to influence the youngsters to misbehave. We are going to deal with them,” he said.
Mpinganjira hinted that they will discuss with the club’s sponsors on the possibility of coming up with a special funding to help the team compete in the CAF tournament following their Castel Cup victory.
He also lamented poor patronage of matches, especially at the Kamuzu Stadium, saying this causes the club to get unsatisfactory gate revenue share.
The event turned out to be a jackpot for midfielder Isaac Kaliati, who bagged K1.6 million, after emerging the overall best player, the best midfielder of the year, top goalscorer of the year with 22 goals and the most improved player.
Clement Nyondo was named the best striker while Timothy Silwimba and William Thole bagged the best defender and best goalkeeper accolades, respectively. Nyondo also finished the year as Pemba Rubber Stamp player of the month of December.
The best goal of the year award went to Francisco Madinga’s strike against Cobbe Barracks while goalkeeper Richard Chipuwa was named the team player of the year after players and the technical panel came up with his name. Rookie of the year honours went to Wallace Adam.
Layman Kasiya was named Wanderers Reserve player of the year as Golden Mafunga did the same with the Youth team. Wanderers Women’s football team player of the year was Grace Gumba.
The club also awarded staunch supporter Nelson Bwede Chole as the Nomads’ top fan of the year.
Wanderers President Special Recognistion Award went to Bob.
