Swaziland snub Flames,courting Zimbabwe, Botswana

Swaziland’s Sihlangu have cancelled an international friendly match against the Flames that was scheduled for this weekend following FAM’s delay to confirm the game.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu on Thursday confirmed that the Flames have lost an opportunity for an already secured friendly.

“We have lost out on the prospects of facing Swaziland due to our delay to confirm the game in time because of the delay in budget approval,” said Nyamilandu.

However, the FAM president said all is not lost as FAM is now courting Zimbabwe’s Warriors and Botswana’s Zebras.

“The good thing is that even the Minister [of Youth and Sports] is committed that we should play at least one friendly before we face Namibia.

“It will be a big mistake if the new coaching panel will not have an opportunity for an international friendly match to assess the players. So, we are pursuing other options and we are talking to Zimbabwe and Botswana.

“However, the problem is that time is not on our side,” said Nyamilandu.

The Flames missed out on an opportunity for an international friendly against Zimbabwe on February 5 which was a Fifa calendar date because there was no coaching panel in place.