Early 2025

It is a quiet time for sports in Chitipa between mid December and early March as the annual seasonal rains hit hard. The overused, hard, dry and uneven football pitches are given a much needed break. The rains replenish the soil and even grass tries to fight its way to the surface. Many people, Wachisa included spend time at the farm. He owns land a distance away from his house and has about 4 hectares. The agricultural sector in Northern Malawi depends a lot on a rain fed farming system. So it is a very busy time of the year. It is the planting season during the wet weather. He grows maize, corn, soya beans and groundnuts. These crops require moderate rain, so can still be profitable during times of poor rains as is happening more and more. Coach Wachisa makes a lot of connections between farming and football with of course 'grassroots' being one of his favourite words. He posted recently - 'It's Real Deal 2 F's, Football & Farming equals FUN' to thank Red House Farm FC for their support of football in Chitipa.  I had made it my mission late on 2024 to get a direct Facebook contact with all the Senior Coaches and active coaches in the project. I set up a Chitipa Coaches Group, not to bypass Wachisa but to ease his workload. The senior coaches could then send me pictures directly rather than through Wachisa or Albert Chihana, the league secretary. A few were very quiet but by the end of February I only had Real Stars FC, Nakachenja FC and Aliwemwe FC to make contact with. The 2024 U14 and U16 leagues were over and the final log calculated. Albert sent me a copy as soon as they were finalised. It doesn't sound like there are many issues through the season but with my knowledge of football in Malawi I am sure there were. I hope things have moved on since the 'Juju' days and sitting around the penalty box when a penalty is awarded. In response I posted 'well done' messages to all the clubs with pictures of all their teams dressed in donated kits. A new club Kamphumba FC had started in 2024 and had entered the U14 league. 

The 2024 Chitipa FAM league tables were finalised. It looked like the 'Big 4' were dominating again. Young Stars FC, Chitipa Hammers FC, Nyabinghi Warriors FC and Impala FC filled the top 4 places in both U14 and U16 leagues. The teams looked great dressed in the Edinburgh South CFC, Longhoughton Rangers FC, Red House Farm FC and Alnwick Juniors FC kits that were donated as far back as 2020. We had some lovely comments from Chitipa.     

Coach Wachisa Munkhondijah, Nyabinghi Warriors - 'Community Sports Leaders Africa has been a shoulder to lean on in the DEVELOPMENT OF FOOTBALL IN CHITIPA since 2016. We humbly salute ANDY BOTTOMER & EVERY STAKEHOLDER who has contributed to these efforts...Looking forward to another fruitful SPORTY 2025'. 

League General Secretary Albert Chihana - ' These stories get straight to the hearts of many in Chitipa. We keep enjoying the support and we appreciate your efforts. Youth football in Chitipa is forever blessed'. 

Kinsley Daniel, Coach Chitipa Hammers FC - 'All these kits and other massive equipment's (training bibs, cones, balls, boots) as well as the coaches trainings that CSLA provide for the youth teams in the district helped in shaping our league into something exciting and beyond how other districts are shaped. Thank you Andy and the entire CSLA family!'.