Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili says his charges will have effective preparations for the 2026 Women Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) finals if they play international friendly matches against West African teams, notably, Cameroon and Senegal. The Malawi Women’s National Team coach says he has included this in his plan submitted to the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) ahead of the continental showpiece that Morocco will host from March 17 to April 3. While the Scorchers are 153rd on Fifa rankings, Cameroon and Senegal are 70th and 81st, respectively.
Having already played against other higher ranked teams such as Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe in international friendlies, Fazili said he sees Cameroon and Senegal as teams that can provide a good test. “These teams also qualified for the Wafcon and after watching their play, I realised that they can give us good preparations, especially on building combinations and improving our attacks,” he said. Fazili said he plans to go into camp upon the conclusion of the National Bank of Malawi (NBM) Women’s Premiership this month end.
He said he is also hoping that the Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) Women’s Championship will be conducted before the Wafcon finals. The Scorchers made the Wafcon finals grade for the first time after beating Angola 2-0 in their last qualifying match at the Bingu National Stadium after the first leg ended goal-less away. Scorchers’ France-based captain Tabitha Chawinga also said at least two international friendlies will be enough for the team to be fully prepared.
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FAM competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka had not responded on the availability of funding for the friendlies after asking for a questionnaire yesterday. But football analyst Parry Chinyama yesterday described Fazili’s plan as brilliant as it will put the Scorchers into tournament mood ahead of the continental showpiece. However, he suggested that the friendlies can be effective if played close to the Wafcon finals and in a country close to Morocco for perfect acclimatisation. “Camping can be done within Malawi but the actual friendlies should be played away from home so that players should get used to playing without home support,” said Chinyama.
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