Nyasa Big Bullets is a Malawian professional association football club based in Blantyre, currently playing in the TNM Super League, the top division of Malawian football. The club was formerly known as Bata Bullets, Total Big Bullets and Bakili Bullets. Nyasa Big Bullets are regarded as the most successful club in Malawian football history, having won the Super League of Malawi a record 17 times.
History
The club was formed in 1967 by a group of players who split from Mighty Wanderers. The original name was Nyasaland Bullets, but the club managed to source good sponsorship from Bata Shoe Company and was renamed as Bata Bullets.[1]
1970 season was a great success as Bullets achieved a treble after winning the Blantyre and Districts Football League (BDFL), the Chibuku Cup and Castle Cup.
In 2003, then Malawi President Bakili Muluzi adopted the team and renamed it Bakili Bullets. It was during this period that the team enjoyed one of its glamorous periods, reaching the lucrative group stages of CAF Champions League 2004.[2][3]
It was also during the same period that the club had a training camp in the United Kingdom in readiness for the CAF Champions League. Currently the team is sponsored by Nyasa Manufacturing Company (NMC).[4]
Its nickname ever since is Maulle (native language for bullets).
On 8 October 2018, Rodgers Yasin was sacked as Nyasa Big Bullets head coach along with assistant Elijah Kananji.[5]
Bullets are currently coached by former Zimbabwe national team manager Callisto Pasuwa, with former captain and Malawi national team defender Peter Mponda as his assistant.
Kamuzu Stadium is a stadium located in Blantyre, with a capacity of 50,000 seats. It is located next to the Malawi National Council of Sports Offices.
The Blantyre derby
Main article: Blantyre derby
The Blantyre derby between Big Bullets and Mighty Wanderers is a fiercely contested match and in contrast to most of the other games played in the Malawi TNM Super League, matches between the two rivals always attract a large fanbase.
