CAF starts Bingu Stadium inspection
Confederation of African Football (CAF) envoy Kabelo Keoropetse Hubert Bosilong arrived in the country yesterday for an assessment of Bingu National Stadium (BNS) in Lilongwe.
The inspection is scheduled to be held today and tomorrow.
During the two-day inspection, the CAF envoy from South Africa will assess if the field of play is green, smooth, levelled and in perfect condition for matches.
CAF will also check if the pitch has two covered benches of quality material at high level, each with a seating capacity of at least 14 persons.
The stadium also needs to have one covered bench of quality material at pitch level with seating room for four match officials.
A new requirement also stipulates that stadiums hosting matches must have floodlights.
In an interview, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) compliance manager Casper Jangale confirmed the arrival of the CAF official and the inspection.
Jangale was confident that the stadium will pass the test after FAM did its own inspection before the CAF sanctioned one.
Football analyst Charles Nyirenda said he was confident that the facility will meet Fifa and CAF grade.
“The only reason this facility has not been used by the national football team is because we didn’t want it to. Otherwise it is perfect,” he said.
CAF blacklisted Malawi from hosting international matches after FAM initially submitted only Kamuzu Stadium which was already deemed a safety hazard to spectators.
The decision meant Malawi was supposed to host matches in neighbouring countries.
If BNS passes the test, it will host upcoming Malawi’s 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon, Mozambique and Ivory Coast from September to November.
