FOMO Champs After Penalty Shootout
The 2024 TNM Super League season is set to kick off in April with the Charity Shield match to be played March 30.
BLANTYRE, Malawi-Friends Of Mulanje Orphans Football Club (FOMO) are the champions of the Thumbs Up Southern Region Football Association premier league after beating Ntopwa FC 4-3 on penalties after the teams had settled for a 1-1 draw in regulation time, writes Happy Valirani.
The highly contested final match was held at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre on Sunday, February 4, 2024.
Chimwemwe Kamowa put FOMO in front four minutes into the first half but Ntopwa equalized in the 15th minute through Japhet Kamzimbi.
Both teams continued to search for the winning goal especially in the second half but neither team could find the back of the net until the 90th minute when the match went into a penalty shootout to decide the winner.
Noel Phiri, goalkeeper for FOMO FC, was the hero of the day as he saved two of Ntopwa's penalty kicks to bring hope to his team to be declared the Southern Region Football Association league champions.
FOMO FC, a team from Mulanje, will play in the TNM Super League in the 2024 season for their debut appearance.
The Mulanje-based team has joined two other newly promoted teams, Baka City from the northern region and Kawinga FC from the central region, to be part of the 16 Super League teams.
Head coach of FOMO FC Mapopa Msukwa praised his players for the hard work that led them to the championship.
"I knew it was going to be a tough game considering we beat them twice, but I have to thank God for the victory," Msukwa said.
The owner and technical director of Ntopwa FC, Isaac Jomo Osman, conceded the defeat. "It's part of the game," Osman said.
"We missed a lot of chances that could have finished the game in 90 minutes."
The 2024 TNM Super League season is set to kick off in April with the Charity Shield match to be played March 30.