FCB Nyasa Big Bullets have earned widespread recognition in the 2026 FAM Awards nominations, with five current and former players as well as a member of the technical bench shortlisted across major categories following a trophy-laden domestic campaign.
The awards ceremony will take place on Friday, 6 March 2026, at Comesa Hall in Blantyre.
Winners in the individual award categories will be decided through a voting process involving club coaches and team captains.
The People’s Team lifted both the 2026/27 Castel Challenge Cup and the Airtel Top 8, while also reaching the semi-finals of the FDH Bank Cup — achievements that have translated into strong national recognition.
Men’s Footballer of the Year
Former Bullets forwards Chikumbutso Salima and Babatunde Adepoju have earned nominations for the Men’s Footballer of the Year award after outstanding league campaigns.
Salima, now with Sudanese Al-Merrikh SC, was crowned the 2025 TNM Super League Player of the Season after scoring 15 goals and providing 11 assists in 28 appearances, finishing as joint top scorer alongside Babatunde.
Babatunde, who has since returned to his parent club Venda Football Academy, also netted 15 league goals and registered seven assists in 28 matches. He further finished as the FDH Bank Cup top scorer with four goals in three appearances.
They will contest the accolade alongside Mighty Wanderers goalkeeper Dalitso Khungwa.
Castel Challenge Cup categories
Fresh from lifting the 2026/27 Castel Challenge Cup, Bullets duo Maxwell Phodo and Innocent Nyasulu have been shortlisted for tournament honours.
Phodo was the competition’s standout attacker, scoring seven goals in five matches — accounting for more than half of Bullets’ 12-goal tally during the tournament run.
Nyasulu delivered consistency between the posts, keeping three clean sheets in five matches and conceding only twice throughout the competition.
Both players are nominated for Player of the Tournament, while Nyasulu is also in contention for Goalkeeper of the Tournament.
Women’s Coach of the Year
Bullets Women head coach Maggie Chombo Sadik has earned a nomination for the Women’s Coach of the Year award following an outstanding season at both club and national level.
She guided the Malawi Under-20 Women’s National Team to the fourth round of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers for the first time in the country’s history, achieving the milestone without suffering a defeat.
At club level, she also led Bullets to a top-four finish in the NBM Women’s Premiership, reinforcing the team’s status among the country’s elite sides.
Her nomination further underlines Bullets’ growing influence in the development and progression of women’s football in Malawi.
She will contest the honour alongside Andrew Chikhosi of Silver Strikers Ladies, winners of the 2025 NBM Women’s Premiership, and Malawi Women’s National Team head coach Lovemore Fazili.
FAM administers several elite competitions, including the Castel Challenge Cup, the FDH Bank Cup, the NBS National Division League, the NBM Women’s Premiership and the Airtel Top 8.
Bullets compete in the top-flight and elite cup competitions. The club does not participate in the NBS National Division League, which serves as the promotional second-tier competition, and in line with regulations the Bullets Reserves side is not eligible to compete in the NDL.
While the Castel Challenge Cup features prominently in this year’s nominations, the Airtel Top 8 — despite being one of the country’s premier knockout competitions — is not listed among the tournament categories scheduled for recognition at this year’s ceremony.
Similarly, although Bullets reached the semi-finals of the FDH Bank Cup, the club does not have a nominee directly linked to that competition.
Nonetheless, as Castel Challenge Cup winners and Airtel Top 8 champions, Bullets head into awards night strongly represented on the national stage.
