Wa Ganyu 

Those who watched him, as an up and coming 15-year old star at Chichiri Athletics in 1965 attest to the fact that he was built for the big stage.

Luckily, he stood on the shoulder of many giants in his family who had taken to the field and kicked a football. Take Alaudin for example, now a media entrepreneur.

Born in Blantyre, Yasin ‘Titch’ Osman also known as Njinga was one of the first footballers to have played for both of the city’s giants, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and Mighty Wanderers. But his road to fame was well set at Chichiri Athletics.

Privileged to feature with his other two brothers, late Sattar and the youngest of them all, Nazar who tragically died in a car accident on his way to play football in Tete Mozambique for Chichiri, his two seasons at Chichiri were promises of great things to come, despite the failures endured.

Yasin appeared in two finals at Chichiri, but never lifted any trophies. On both attempts, Chichiri lost to Zomba 4-0 in the Franklin Cup and 2-0 to Blantyre Sports Club in the Stanhope Cup.

He scored 5 goals in 16 appearances in his first season, establishing his name in the game, something that convinced Wanderers to take him on board when Chichiri Athletics disbanded a year later.

At Wanderers, Yasin played for two seasons and won the Blantyre and Districts Football League (BDFL) Championship. In that maiden season at Lali Lubani, Yasin appeared in his second successive Stanhope Final and he couldn’t rewrite his tale. The Nomads lost 6-1 to Zomba Town.

But Yasin caused controversy.  Since their breakaway from Wanderers in 1965, the Wanderers-Bullets rivalry was still in its embryonic stages until Yasin threw some paraffin to the fire.

In 1970, he became the first player in Malawian football history to be transferred for a fee of £100, moving from Wanderers to their arch rivals, Bullets where he played for three seasons before returning to the blue and white side of the city.

“His move is credited to have triggered the rivalry between Wanderers and Bullets which turned the two teams into eternal rivals,” recalls one supporter.

Yasin didn’t need much time to repay Bullets.  He netted 42 goals including 5 hat tricks in his first season. Sadly, this individual brilliance was not enough to inspire Bullets to glory as they lost 3-2 to Wanderers in the Chibuku Cup final.

Perhaps it’s his second season for which the Bullets faithful will still remember him. Yasin’s 29 goals in 30 games that season inspired Bullets to a treble, winning the BDFL League, the Chibuku Cup and Castles Cup.

By the time he was signing out of Bullets, priced away by Michilu Blue Cross for K500, he had scored 119 goals for Bullets in just 101 matches.

“Though his time at our club lasted less than three seasons, his impact was indelible,” writes Bullets in their eulogy of the towering football figure.

At Michilu, where he did seem settled, Yasin played  for almost four seasons before Wanderers bought him back for a K500 fee in August 1974.

Reunited with Wanderers again, Yasin wasn’t at his peak of goals. This time, he focused on the important ones only, inspiring the Nomads to two knockout trophies.

He was on the scoresheet in a 2-0 win against Oilcom Rovers in the BAT Cup Final and was on target again in the 2-0 win over his former employers, Michiru Blue Cross in the Castle Cup.

For Flames, Yasin played for the Malawi National Team in 1966 to 1975. He had 68 appearances scoring 22 goals.

We shall all remember one Yasin who has now found his final home at Balaka Estate, Biwi in Ntcheu District.