Malawi won’t join Jnr CAF Tourneys
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has said due to financial constraints, Malawi will not take part in the Under-17 and Under-20 CAF tournaments which will start next year.
FAM president Walter Nyamilandu said instead, Malawi might only join the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations if government will approve their request for extra funding, having exhausted the K60 million (about $150 000) allocation for the current fiscal year.
“If anything, it is only the senior team that could take part in the Nations Cup, but that also will depend on availability of funds,” said Nyamilandu.
He admitted that Malawi stands to lose a lot by not taking part in the junior tournaments as they could have afforded up-and-coming players an opportunity for exposure.
Nyamilandu said it would be a gamble for the association to commit itself to all the three tournaments because they could be forced to pull out at some stage and the repercussions would be far-reaching.
However, soccer analyst Felix Ngamanya-Sapao and former Flames captain Peter Mponda suggested that, if anything, FAM should have forgone the 2015 Afcon tournament and not the junior tournaments.
“My view is that at this stage, the junior tournaments are more important than Afcon because we are supposed to rebuild having failed to keep in tact the Under-17 side that qualified for the CAF Youth Championship and Under-17 World Championship in 2009,” said Sapao.
Mponda corroborated Sapao, saying the focus should have been on rebuilding.
“Of course, the senior team is on course as it is now taking shape; hence, the need to participate in the Nations Cup and, if anything, government needs to seriously consider funding the participation of all the three teams,” said Mponda.
Ngalande, Mzava and Luka Milanzi are the notable products from the Under-17 team that qualified for the continental and world youth finals. Ngalande and Mzava play for Bidvest Wits and Bloemfontein Celtic respectively while Milanzi is on loan at top Zambian club Zesco United.
