By Linda Kwanjana
Football lovers from Lilongwe, Mchinji and Chipata in Zambia were treated to a savory match between Mchinji Villa and Mitundu Baptist as NBS Bank plc and Football Association of Malawi (FAM) launched the inaugural NBS Division League (NDL) at Mchinji Community Stadium on Saturday.
NBS Bank has committed K1 billion to support the league which will see three successful regional league teams earn promotion into the country’s elite league.
The launch match saw Mitundu Baptist FC thump Villa FC 4-0 courtesy of Raheem Ntonya’s goals, who was also named Man of the Match.
Speaking at the event, NBS Bank plc Chief Retail Banking Officer, Victoria Chanza expressed excitement over the successful launch of the league saying it will help to unearth football talent in the country.
“We believe that this is what football lovers in the country anticipated and we are excited to bring on the scene just that to achieve our objective. The league is participated by teams across the country’s regions, which also gives us a chance to visit the whole country with our financial inclusion drive initiatives,” she said.
In his remarks, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Fleetwood Haiya said the launch of NDL is a milestone in the development of football in the country.
“It started like a joke, but here we are witnessing the huge support by NBS Bank plc. Remember we increased subvention for the teams to K15 million from K7.5 million. We are also beaming these matches on Mpira TV, just to make sure we expose the talent to others who might not be available in our various playing stadiums,” said Haiya.
The league will run from this month to February 2026 involving 12 teams from all the three regional leagues in the country.
