BY MPHATSO MALIDADI:
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has expressed desire to maintain Malawi under-17 and 20 national football teams.
Fam first Vice-President, James Mwenda, speaking after the under-17 was eliminated from the Cosafa Youth Championship in Mauritius on Wednesday, said they want the junior players to graduate into the senior team in the near future.
“Both teams have potential. Malawi football needs these junior teams. Let me assure the nation that we will maintain both teams. Next year, they will also compete in these competitions. We should give a chance to our young players to continue participating in these tournaments,” he said.
It has been a heartbreaking moment for Malawi as both teams have been booted out of international competitions within a week.
Malawi under-17 failed to get the margin of victory they needed to end their Group C campaign as the best runners-up.
The junior Flames defeated Swaziland 1-0 to finish on second place in their pool with six points and a goal-difference of +5, at par with Mauritius, who progressed because they scored seven goals compared to Malawi’s six.
The under-20 team was booted out of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at the last hurdle when they went down 0-2 to South Africa’s Amajita at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday to miss the plane to the 2019 Niger finals.
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