FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Chief Executive Officer Albert Chigoga said the newly appointed head coach, Peter Mponda, is the right man to replace Kalisto Pasuwa, the most successful coach in the club’s history.
Pasuwa, who won 16 trophies in the six years he was with The People’s Team, left the club after the expiry of his contract last week.
Mponda, who was the Zimbabwean’s deputy between 2019 and 2023, was confirmed the new Bullets head coach on Monday after agreeing to a three-year contract.
Chigoga told journalists that the former Bullets and Malawi captain has whatever it takes to continue where his predecessor left off.
“We are very excited to have our man on board. There was uncertainty at the end of last season, and the media was asking us questions about the future of the head coach Kalisto Pasuwa. We tried to run away from those questions, but in the end, we made it clear that he was on the move.
“Pasuwa had a very successful six years with this club. He made us happy, but we had the task of filling his gap. We had to wait till we roped in Peter Mponda to replace him. He is not new to FCB Nyasa Big Bullets. He was here before as Pasuwa’s assistant and played for this team. He is a winner as he has won a lot as a coach and as a player, and we believe he will take the team forward just like how Pasuwa performed when he was in charge,” explained the Bullets CEO.
“It was a tough decision to make after Pasuwa [left]. We needed someone who understands Bullets. Someone who understands the players that we have. Someone whose tactics and playing philosophy resonate with Bullets. So, looking around, we found Peter Mponda because he possesses these attributes, and we believe that as a club, he is going to make us happy the way we have been before.
“He knows what to do. He is not going to find it difficult to work with the players that we have. Maybe [there is] one or two players signed after he left [as an assistant coach], but it will not be a tall order for him. He knows how to work with players, and I believe that people will see a much-improved Bullets in the 2025 season,” he added.
The Bullets boss was also positive about having a glorious season after the club lost three of the four titles we won in the 2023 season.
“We aim to regain our lost glory in the 2025 season. The season that has just gone by wasn’t as rosy as we anticipated, but we believe the future looks very bright. We are very happy to give him three years. There is nothing to try. We believe that he needs to build a good team, and he needs ample time to do it.”
Mponda returned to Bullets after moving to Black Leopards of South Africa in 2023, before coming back to Malawi to take the reins at Silver Strikers last year and guided The Bankers to the TNM Super League championship after eleven years, ending our five-year dominance in the league.
