Head coach says domestic success should provide the platform for The People’s Team to establish themselves among Africa’s leading clubs.
FCB Nyasa Big Bullets head coach Wedson Nyirenda says his long-term ambition is to help The People’s Team establish themselves as genuine contenders on the African stage, believing the club’s sustained domestic success should now provide the foundation for greater continental achievement.
The People’s Team have won a record 17 league championships and lifted numerous domestic cup titles, but Nyirenda believes the club’s next true measure of progress will be the strides it makes in African competition.
Bullets last reached the group stage of the CAF Champions League in 2004. Since then, the club has been unable to progress beyond the preliminary qualifying rounds despite qualifying for continental football on several occasions.
While domestic trophies remain a key objective, Nyirenda believes they should become the platform for building a club capable of competing consistently with Africa’s best.
While addressing the media recently, Nyirenda outlined the long-term ambition he believes should drive The People’s Team beyond their domestic success.
“We have won 17 league championships and we are talking about being champions of Malawi. What would be new about that? If we win another championship, it will be a familiar celebration for the people of Malawi; we will be dancing to the same song and the same drums.”
“The message to the team now is that we must start thinking beyond domestic success and focus on becoming a side that can compete with and conquer the best teams in Africa.”
Nyirenda believes success in football is not determined by the size of a country, pointing to Cape Verde’s performances on the global stage as proof that smaller nations can compete with the very best.
He believes Bullets should adopt the same belief if they are to establish themselves among Africa’s leading clubs and build a reputation beyond Malawi’s borders.
“Everything is possible. There is no such thing as a small country in football. Look at what Cape Verde is achieving at the World Cup. If they can do it, why can’t Malawi?”
“Our focus should be to win the league, win the cups, and then take the next step by making a real impact on the African stage. That is when we can truly say the Bullets brand is growing.”
“But if we keep winning domestic titles and then get eliminated after just one tie in continental competitions, then we have to ask ourselves what progress we are really making.”
Nyirenda stressed that winning domestic honours remains an important part of his responsibility as head coach. However, he admitted he would consider his time at Bullets incomplete if the club failed to make meaningful progress in African competition.
“I have won many league titles and cup competitions in my coaching career, and I do not want to be remembered as a coach who only achieved success domestically but failed to make an impact on the continental stage.”
“I have previously guided other teams beyond the preliminary rounds of African competitions, and now my goal is to take this team to another level. That is the mentality we are trying to instil in the players.”
For Nyirenda, reclaiming the FDH Bank Premiership title is about more than adding another trophy to Bullets’ collection. It is the first step towards returning to the CAF Champions League and turning his long-term vision of establishing The People’s Team among Africa’s leading clubs into reality.
