Newly-appointed Malawi Under-17 National Football Team coach, Derklerk Msakakuona, has described the first day of his talent identification exercise as a success.
Msakakuona has been given the challenge to identify Under-17 players for the Junior Flames, who are expected to go in camp at Mpira Village in Blantyre on Sunday.
The trials started on Wednesday and ended yesterday with an aim of selecting players to participate in this year’s Cosafa Youth Cup slated for Mauritius from July 22 to 31.
Speaking after conducting the exercise on Wednesday at Nankhaka Stadium, the Blue Eagles coach said he was impressed with players who turned up for the exercise.
“I have seen more good players that just need to be trained well. Overall, the exercise has been wonderful and I am really impressed with the players. I hope at the end of the exercise, we will have a good crop of players for the Cosafa Cup,” Msakakuona said.
Over 100 players reported for the exercise, but the squad was trimmed to 35 players after a thorough age-screening exercise.
In the Southern Region, the exercise took place at Mpira Stadium, with Zomba Community Ground hosting a similar exercise. In the Northern Region, the exercise is taking place at Mzuzu Stadium.
The Junior Flames have been drawn in Group B alongside Mozambique, Madagascar and Zambia.
Msakakuona will lead the Junior Flames while being assisted by Tione Mhone as assistant coach. Mike Banda, from Kamuzu Academy, is the Team Manager
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