Some Flames players are shocked by Football Association of Malawi’s (Fam) decision to withdraw the Flames from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifiers due to financial constraints.
Bidvest Wits forward Gabadihno Mhango told South Africa’s soccer publication, www. kickoff.com, that he was disappointed by the decision.
“As [Malawi] players, we didn’t expect such [a thing] to happen. This affects our international careers because we wanted to play in the qualifiers with the hope of qualifying for the finals. Some of us have never played in the Afcon finals so this would have been another chance to give it a go.”
“Maybe they will change their minds about this but then if it remains like this then there is nothing that we can do. So far there has been no communication from the association about this,” Mhango told the publication.
Be Forward Wanderers striker Peter Wadabwa also questioned Fam’s decision, saying it was a disgrace to the nation.
“Personally, I do not support the idea of withdrawing from the competitions. We have so many up-and-coming players that need to be exposed through such tournaments. Players are spotted by foreign clubs through such competitions so it means it will be tough for the players to get deals abroad,” Wadabwa said.
In a statement released on Sunday after a meeting in Lilongwe, the association said the decision was reached due to lack of funds.
“However, in its consideration, such withdrawal and its negative implications cannot be avoided looking at the current level of desperation that the Senior National Football team is in terms of funding and overall,” Fam General Secretary, Alfred Gunda, explained in a statement.
Fam has given itself a deadline of March and April to withdraw from Chan and Afcon qualifiers, respectively.
The Flames were drawn against Cameroun and Morocco in Group B. In Chan, Malawi were expected to meet Madagascar next month.
In his manifesto, Fam President, Walter Nyamilandu, promised to ensure the Flames’ qualification to the 2026 World Cup.
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