By Simon Ngena
WHILE the January transfer window was
abuzz with the movement of high-profi
le players from one team to another or
between leagues, a silent revolution was
taking place in the coaching departments of
several African national teams. Leading the
revolution were the likes of Libya, Kenya
and Malawi who inked contracts with AFCON
winner Aliou Cisse of Senegal, Benni
McCarthy and Kalisto Pasuwa, respectively.

Pasuwa, who had a successful stint with
Nyasa Big Bullets, was recommended by
the Football Association of Malawi’s Technical
Sub-Committee.
The successful coach who won fi ve consecutive
league titles with Nyasa Big Bullets
and was in charge of the Flames on an
interim basis, will now lead the team on a
permanent basis.
Before his latest appointment, Pasuwa
led Malawi to a draw against Burundi and a
three-nil win over Burkina Faso in the 2025
AFCON qualifi ers.
The win over Burkina Faso was ironically
the Flames’ fi rst in the 2025 AFCON qualifi
ers.
Pasuwa will have the freedom to select
his backroom staff , with his compatriot
Michael Ngore, whom he worked with at
Nyasa Big Bullets, likely to join him.
The former Dynamos coach’s appointment
marks a new chapter for the Flames,
who parted ways with Patrick Mabedi in
October last year.
A former Dynamos player, Pasuwa
was part of the history-making DeMbare
outfi t that played in the African Champions
League. He also played alongside
other DeMbare legends such as Memory
Mucherahowa, Stewart Murisa and Tauya
Murehwa. During his playing days, Pasuwa
was known for his midfi eld artistry and
dribbling skills. He was also known for
scoring goals occasionally.
While Pasuwa was the coach at DeMbare
he also doubled as the national team assistant
coach. It was, however, at Dynamos
that Pasuwa carved his name in the country’s
history books when he won four consecutive
league titles. Many had expressed
scepticism over Pasuwa’s capacity to coach
a well-decorated outfi t such as Dynamos
after having taken over from Lloyd Mutasa
whom he had been deputising.
Pasuwa silenced his critics with four
deserved league titles on the trot including
other trophies such as the Mbada Diamonds
Cup, Gushungo Victory Cup and the
Bob 90 Cup. During his successful stint at
Dynamos, Pasuwa won 12 trophies which
include four league titles, a record only him
holds.
In 2013, Kalisto Pasuwa came under fi re
from Dynamos chairperson Kenny Mubaiwa
after a string of poor results. During the
early stages of the 2013 season, Pasuwa’s
charges lost the opening four games. He,
however, managed to get DeMbare’s campaign
on track after which he went on to
win a fourth title. Despite landing a fourth
title, relations between Pasuwa and the
DeMbare executive remained frosty.
Regardless of Pasuwa’s triumphs at the
helm of DeMbare, his exit from the club
was very unceremonious considering that
he had won four consecutive league titles in
succession.
He was informed by the DeMbare executive
that if he wanted to remain as coach
of the club, he would have to apply like any
other coach intending to coach DeMbare.
After he walked away from the club, Kalisto
Pasuwa sued his former paymasters
for unpaid dues.
There had also been accusations from
DeMbare leaders alleging that Pasuwa had
walked away with their property and that
they did not owe him money but the court
ruled that the club was supposed to pay
Pasuwa money amounting to US$19 000.
Pasuwa’s coaching career with the
national team both the Under-23 and
the senior side was nothing short of
exceptional. Despite a series of poor
training facilities and planning on the
part of ZIFA, Pasuwa has produced very
impressive results. In an AFCON 2016
qualifi er played against the fl ames of
Malawi, the team travelled by bus after
having trained as a unit for only a day
but managed to upset Malawi 2-1 on
their home turf.
He also followed the triumph of
Malawi with another victory at Rufaro
Stadium against the Comoros Islands
in a CHAN qualifi er.
Pasuwa’s appointment as senior
national team coach had been after he
had secured the qualifi cation of the
Under-23 side to play in the All Africa
Games after dispatching continental
powerhouses, Cameroon.
Following a series of broken promises
by ZIFA to Kalisto Pasuwa, he
walked away from his job in mid-2015
just days before a crucial match with
South Africa eff ectively throwing the
country’s hopes of participating in the
Olympics into doubt.
Despite ZIFA getting money amounting
to US$1 million, they had not paid Pasuwa
a cent, resulting in the coach quitting his
job at the eleventh hour.
Pasuwa won four successive league titles
after he arrived at Nyasa Big Bullets at
the end of the 2018 season. In June 2021,
Kalisto Pasuwa was added to the National
Football Coaches Association (NFCA), becoming
one of the fi rst two foreign mentors
to join the Malawian coaches’ body.
He was roped into the fold along with
Zambian Dan Kabwe. — Additional
reporting by ZBC news online, Pindula