Madinga doubtful as U-23 face Kuwait
Malawi Under-23 National Football Team will play Kuwait this evening in a series of international friendly matches organised by Turkish FA in Antalya, Turkey.
Ten teams, namely Zambia, Republic of Congo, Liberia, Benin, Togo (senior), Togo Under-23, Tajikstan Under-23, Kuwait Under-23, Sierra Leone and Malawi have gathered in the transcontinental country located mainly in Western Asia and partially in the Balkans in South East Europe, for the matches to be played during the Fifa international date.
Fixtures released by the organisers of the series indicate that Malawi will play Kuwait Under-23 at Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadium in Başakşehir, Istanbul. The match is set to kick off at 5pm Turkey time (4pm Malawi time).
Malawi will then play Togo Under-23 on March 28 at Mardan Sports Complex in Aksu, Antalya.
The second match will kick off 4pm Turkey time (3pm Malawi time).
Meanwhile, Malawi now has a full squad following the arrival of Moldova-based defender Charles Petro.
But Georgia-based winger Francisco Madinga is a doubt as he was yet to get a Turkish visa yesterday to allow him to join the team.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) technical director Mario Marian Marinica, who is heading the under-23 technical panel, said in an interview that the junior Flames were geared up for the match.
He said: “Madinga so far has not been able to get the visa and more likely he is not going to be with us if he can’t arrive by today [Wednesday].
“But the boys are settling very well. Though it was a bit of a travelling, we had a few training sessions here.”
While Malawi has sent an Under-23 national team, some African countries such as Zambia, Republic of Congo, Liberia, Benin and Togo have sent their senior teams.
Marinica said the decision to send the juniors was part of his plan to impart his philosophy in the up-and-coming players who are likely to break into the senior team in the near future.
He said: “Every country has its own agenda. Everyone is here for different reasons. Some countries have a range of teams; both senior and junior. It’s their philosophy on what they want to achieve.
“For us, the Afcon gave us a chance to assess 150 senior players. It gave us a chance to play five competitive games. Therefore, a good assessment has been made on the senior players.
“However, we need to build a new generation and, therefore, we took it as a project to focus on the under-23 to make sure that we have a squad with players aged from 16 to 23.
“These matches give them exposure to shine and show their skills against very good players.”
The friendly matches’ media officer Lassan Carmala said the event will help expose African talent to European clubs who are there.
