Minister of Youth and Sports Uchizi Mkandawire has lamented Malawi National Football Team’s poor start to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.
Mkandawire was reacting to the team’s back-to-back losses against Burundi (3-2) and Burkina Faso (3-1).
He said there is a need to find a lasting solution to problems that have haunted local football for many years.
“There are several factors that have led to dwindling standards of our football. We have been complaining about lack of funding, selection of players and coaches. We need to go back to square one,’’ Mkandawire said.
Among other things, Mkandawire said the country needs to establish more football academies to produce quality players.
The national team is the responsibility of the government.
However, the government provides resources to all national teams, including the Flames, at the eleventh hour.
Sports analyst Bravo Chiperesa shared similar sentiments with Mkandawire.
“The country has no proper programmes to develop and nurture players,” Chiperesa said.
Meanwhile, former Flames striker Essau Kanyenda has told coach Patrick Mabedi to stop attributing the team’s poor performance to inadequate preparations.
“It is not good to focus much on the duration of camp. Burundi came to Lilongwe but managed to beat us and lost to Senegal by a 1-0 margin. The coach usually watches Super League games and he knows the local players who are doing well,’’ Kanyenda said.
Mabedi has registered just two wins in seven games in all competitions.
Malawi beat Liberia 1-0 and Sao Tome and Principe 3-1 in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers. The team lost by 1-0 margins to Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea in the World Cup qualifiers. Malawi also lost 4-0 and 2-1 to Kenya and Zambia in the Four Nations Tournament.
Leave a Comment