Malawi invitedto Botswana Four Nations tourney

Malawi National Football Team is set to play in a Four Nations Tournament scheduled for March 23 to 31 at Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown, Botswana. Football Association of Malawi (FAM) said in a statement yesterday that apart from the hosts, Zambia’s Chipolopolo and the Warriors of Zimbabwe complete the list in the tournament. FAM said the competition will offer the Flames coach Kallisto Pasuwa an opportunity to build momentum ahead of 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers which kick off in September.

“The tournament provides the Flames with a competitive platform to start preparations and strengthen squad for the upcoming 2027 African Cup of Nations Qualifiers,” reads the statement. The Flames and other teams ranked first to 42nd received a bye to the qualifying group stage in September while the teams ranked 43rd to 54th will play in the preliminary round which starts in March, according to Confederation of African Football. FAM says the four-team competition will follow a knockout format with a draw determining the semi-final fixtures.

“There will be a draw for two semi-finals with the two winners meeting in the final and the losers in a match for third place,” the statement further reads. FAM operations director Gomezgani Zakazaka in an interview said the mini tournament follows an agreement between the football associations after Malawi hosted a similar tournament in March 2024. He said: “As you recall that in 2024, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia made an agreement that they should be hosting tournaments within the region involving these three teams and also bringing like a fourth team to join the setup.

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“We hosted the first edition that was in Lilongwe in March 2024. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi participated and we brought Kenya as a guest nation. And this time around, we also thought of organising another tournament during the coming Fifa international window.

Zakazaka said the tournament offers Flames head coach Kallisto Pasuwa ample time to prepare for the Afcon qualifiers. He said: “As FAM, we are excited that we are going to play in this competition. We are facing three nations that were at the Morocco Afcon finals, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.”

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