Nigerian forward Chinedu Philip Okafor has joined FCB Nyasa Big Bullets after signing a two-year contract.
Okafor joins The People’s Team as a free agent following a three-week trial after leaving Bahrain side, Isa Town Sports Club.
The 22-year-old striker began his professional career in 2019 when he joined Jordan League club, Shabab Al-Hussein where he played for one season before moving to Sudanese Al-Shorta Ayearsl-Qadarif in 2020 and then to Bahrain in the 2021 season.
Okafor said: “It’s a good feeling [to join Bullets]. I am happy to finally be part of this family and I am looking forward to having a very good chapter here with my new family of Bullets and doing good things together.”
Our new signing is also excited to play in front of thousands of Maule fans, whom he described as ‘special’ after witnessing the fans give the team massive support during the 2023 Pre-Season International Bonanza a fortnight ago.
“It’s a nice feeling playing in the presence of Bullets fans. It’s a nice way of exposure and playing under coach Kalisto Pasuwa is a privilege for me because it’s a challenge working for a coach who knows football, has been there, he’s seen it all together with his assistants [Peter Mponda and Heston Munthali].
“It was also very nice to play in the bonanza and one friendly match [against Kamuzu Barracks in Lilongwe last Saturday] because it gave me an opportunity to know the team.
“I will try to give my best and that’s the reason why I am here. Every time I have the jersey on, I will always give 100 per cent so that we have a good season together with the technical panel and my fellow teammates.”
Okafor also had something to say about his new teammates.
“They are very nice people, very friendly and that’s how things are supposed to be and this makes it easier to settle in with teammates who are like this”.
Pasuwa said: “Firstly, we are not looking locally. One area where we’re having problems when we play in the CAF Champions League is the stature of the body. In the Champions League, you can lose games through set pieces because of height and in most cases, we were losing it.
“In having this boy [Okafor] coming into the team, we wanted another dimension of football where locally, we also saw ourselves struggling especially whenever facing military teams where we couldn’t match them in terms of strength, so with this boy coming to us, he can add value.
“But he is one person also who needs to be taught, to be with him on the ground in order for him to be learning a lot of things. He came here not as a finished product but as someone who is learning like these other players we are having.”
Okafor is the second Nigerian to play for Bullets after Babatunde Adepoju, who was with The People’s Team in the 2021-2022 seasons in which he had 44 goal contributions in 46 appearances, winning three Golden Boot awards in the TNM Super League, Airtel Top 8 and the FDH Bank Cup.
He is Pasuwa’s fourth signing ahead of the 2023 season after he completed the signings of midfielder Chawanangwa Gumbo, forward Maxwell Gasten Phodo as well as Kenyan defenders Clyde Senaji Navade and Collins Odhiambo Okumu.
