Flames to wear plain Umbro kit against Benin

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has said the Flames will wear their traditional red colours against Benin next month.

FAM chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda said this follows the criticism levelled on the association for purchasing stripped Umbro uniforms for the Chad games.

“Since we have not yet concluded the deal with Umbro, we will buy two other sets of plain uniform from the shelf, probably one in red and the other in green.

“We want to make sure that by the time we face Benin in the first leg, we should have bought the kits,” he said.

On the progress of the deal, Nyirenda said: “Talks are at an advanced stage and we are hoping to finalise next month.”

The FAM said the Umbro deal will also cover the junior and women national teams.

Many football fans and pundits questioned FAM’s move to buy the Flames red and black as well as red and white stripped Umbro uniforms which they wore against Chad instead of the traditional red and green colours.

But in response, FAM said the uniforms were bought from the shelves as it takes time to manufacture tailor-designed uniforms.