In 1961, a league championship of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (corresponding to current Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) was organised but aborted.
NB: called Royle League for sponsorhip reasons starting from the second (1948/49) season and discontinued upon independence in 1964 Season Champions Runners-Up [Remarks] 1948 Blantyre SC Mlanje 1948/49 Mlanje Blantyre SC 1949/50 Mlanje Athletics 1950/51 Blantyre SC Zomba GC 1951/52 Blantyre SC Zomba GC 1952/53 Zomba GC Limbe Wanderers [Blantyre SC were 6th] 1953/54 Corona Blantyre SC 1954/55 Corona Blantyre SC 1955/56 Blantyre SC Sunnyside Rovers 1956/57 Limbe CC Blantyre SC 1957/58 Zomba GC Cholo [Blantyre SC were 4th] 1958/59 Blantyre SC Limbe CC 1959/60 Blantyre SC Olympia [Nyasaland Railways were 3rd] 1960/61 Olympia 1961/62 Limbe CC Blantyre SC 1962/63 Limbe CC Olympia 1963/64 Limbe CC NB: only Blantyre SC, Limbe CC and Zomba GC enetered all 17 competitions; Indian SC withdrew in 1961 after having played 14 seasons, while the fifth founding member, Mlanje, withdrew after six seasons; Cholo played for 12 seasons, withdrawing for 1952/53 but reapplying for the next season; Athletics only entered in 1949/50 (when they finished second); Limbe Wanderers played 3 seasons, from 1950/51 to 1952/53, withdrawing after their first ever runners-up finish; Sunnyside Rovers played 5 seasons, from 1951/52 to 1955/56, withdrawing after their first ever runners-up finish; Nyasaland Railways withdrew after first entering in 1950/51 but were readmitted in 1958; in 1954/55 Blantyre SC were allowed to enter a reserve ("B") side; Goals Social Club (1949/50 and 1950/51) and Callies (1960/61 and 1961/62) both entered in two seasons only; Olympia first entered in 1959/60, playing the last five seasons; Rovers United first entered in 1962/63, playing the last two seasons; in both 1950/51 and 1960/61 the league comprised 9 teams (the highest ever number) while in 11 other seasons there were 7 or 8 teams; Limbe Wanderers not connected to later Limbe Leaf Wanderers. Number of Wins (17) 6 Blantyre Sports Club 4 Limbe Country Club 2 Corona Mlanje Zomba Gymkhana Club 1 Olympia
Blantyre & District Lilongwe & District 1964/65 Portuguese Wanderers 1965/66 Zomba Town 1966/67 Wanderers 1968 Yamaha Wanderers 1969 Yamaha Wanderers 1970 Bata Bullets 1971 Bata Bullets 1972 Bata Bullets 1973 Bata Bullets 1974 Yamaha Wanderers 1975 Bata Bullets 1976 Yamaha Wanderers 1977 Bata Bullets 1978 Bata Bullets 1979 Limbe Leaf Wanderers 1980 Limbe Leaf Wanderers 1981 Bata Bullets CIVO United 1982 ADMARC Tigers 1983 Limbe Leaf Wanderers Berec Power [*] 1984 Bata Bullets 1985 Limbe Leaf Wanderers Silver Strikers 1986 1987 CIVO United 1988 Silver Strikers 1989 MITCO 1990 1991 Silver Strikers [*] Berec Power apparently also won the national championship 1983, presumably after a playoff with the other district champions. NB: Bata Bullets now called Total Big Bullets; Yamaha/Limbe Leaf Wanderers now called MTL Wanderers; Hardware Stars now called Michiru Castles; Berec Power (Pack) founded as Chipuku Arrows and now called MDC United.
Champions 1969 Limbe Leaf Wanderers 1970 Bata Bullets 1971 Bata Bullets 1972 Limbe Leaf Wanderers 1973 Limbe Leaf Wanderers 1974 Bata Bullets 1975 Bata Bullets 1976 Yamaha Wanderers 1977 Hardware Stars 1978 Bata Bullets 1979 Bata Bullets 1980 Limbe Leaf Wanderers 1981 Bata Bullets 1982 ADMARC Tigers 1983 Berec Power 1984 Bata Bullets 1985 Silver Strikers 1986 Bata Bullets 1987 Silver Strikers 1988 Bata Bullets 1989 MITCO (Lilongwe) 1990 Sucoma (Chikwawa) 1991 Bata Bullets NB: for the periods 1969-1976 and 1988-1991 these are identical to the reported winners of the Chibuku Cup; it is unclear whether that was considered to determine a 'national' champion at the time. Super League Champions NB: first edition 1986 with 8 clubs, as Gillette Nacet Super League 1986 Bata Bullets (Blantyre) 1987 CIVO United (Lilongwe) 1988 MDC United (Lilongwe) 1989 Admarc Tigers (Blantyre) 1990 Limbe Leaf Wanderers (Blantyre) 1991 Bata Bullets (Blantyre) 1992 Bata Bullets (Blantyre) 1993 Silver Strikers (Lilongwe) 1994 Silver Strikers (Lilongwe) 1995 Limbe Leaf Wanderers (Blantyre) 1995/96 Silver Strikers (Lilongwe) 1996/97 Telecom Wanderers (Blantyre) 1997/98 Telecom Wanderers (Blantyre) 1998/99 Bata Bullets (Blantyre) 1999/00 Bata Bullets (Blantyre) 2000/01 Total Big Bullets (Blantyre) 2001/02 Total Big Bullets (Blantyre) 2002/03 Bakili Bullets (Blantyre) 2004 Bakili Bullets (Blantyre) 2005/06 Big Bullets (Blantyre) 2006 MTL Wanderers (Blantyre) 2007 ESCOM United (Blantyre) 2008 Silver Strikers (Lilongwe) 2009/10 Silver Strikers (Lilongwe) 2010/11 ESCOM United (Blantyre) 2011/12 Silver Strikers (Lilongwe) 2012/13 Silver Strikers (Lilongwe) 2013/14 Silver Strikers (Lilongwe) 2014 Big Bullets (Blantyre) 2015 Big Bullets (Blantyre) 2016 Kamuzu Barracks (Zomba) 2017 Be Forward Wanderers (Blantyre) 2018 Nyasa Big Bullets (Blantyre) Number of Titles (only Super League Champions since 1986) (31): 13 Bullets (Blantyre) [includes Bata/Total Big/Bakili Bullets] 8 Silver Strikers (Lilongwe) 6 Wanderers (Blantyre) [includes Limbe Leaf/Telecom/MTL/Be Forward Wanderers] 2 ESCOM United (Blantyre) 1 Admarc Tigers (Blantyre) Civo United (Lilongwe) Kamuzu Barracks (Zomba) MDC United (Lilongwe)
Thanks to Mario Antoine and Barry Baker
Sources included: [Tra 02], FA of Malawi
Prepared and maintained by Hans Schöggl for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Hans Schöggl
Last updated: 20 Dec 2018
(C) Copyright Hans Schöggl and RSSSF 1998/2018
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