Flames court Namibia
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) wants the national football team to play against Namibia on June 8 in preparation for the 2016 Cosafa Cup set for June 11-22 in Windhoek.
If the international friendly materialises, the Flames, who fly to Harare tomorrow, will proceed to Namibia from Zimbabwe where they are expected to play the Warriors in 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Sunday.
FAM president Walter Nyamilandu said in an interview that the match will be a good platform for the Flames preparations before the Cosafa Cup.
“We want the Flames to have thorough preparations for the Cosafa Cup. Our aim is to win the cup after winning the Plate Section last year,” said Nyamilandu.
As we went to press FAM was yet to conclude logistics of the international friendly.
FAM general secretary Suzgo Nyirenda, who is in Namibia for a Fifa workshop, said he would conclude the logistic by the end of business yesterday.
The Flames will start their campaign against favourites Angola on June 12 at Independence Stadium in a Group B cracker that might as well decide who will qualify for the quarter-finals against South Africa on June 18.
Malawi’s second game is against lowly ranked Mauritius on June 14 in a late kick off at Sam Nujoma Stadium.
The Flames, who are Plate Section winners in the 2015 tournament, wrap up the group stage against Lesotho on June 16 at the Independence Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Flames coach Ernest Mtawali returned from Zimbabwe where he went to spy on the Warriors when they were playing Uganda in an international friendly on Tuesday evening.
Teenage Hadebe stole the show after scoring a brace as the Zimbabwe Warriors overcame a battling Uganda Cranes 2-0.
Warriors coach Calisto Pasuwa chose to rest most of his regulars ahead of the must win 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifier against the Flames on Sunday.
However, Mtawali said although Pasuwa did not feature his full-strength squad, his trip was still worth it as he was able to study their formation and tactics.
“It gave me a glimpse of what we should expect,” he said.
Only three regulars Mahachi, Poland-based midfielder Andrew Gwaze and Khama Billiat, introduced in the 72nd minute, played a part in the match.
After the game the Warriors coach said the friendly had given him insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the team, according to New Era of Zimbabwe.
“The guys played very well. We have seen the areas we need to rectify before we play Malawi. We are going to have a headache as the technical team to come up with the final 18,” he said.
