Blessings Kanowa and Adiel Kaduya
* We have some boys coming in who are unfamiliar with the Malawi environment — let us encourage them the same way we encouraged other players
* My dream was to one day be part of the national team squad, and now I will do whatever I can to help the team — Blessings Kanowa
* I have been following the team and watching the games. I was just waiting for my opportunity — Adiel Kaduya
By Duncan Mlanjira
While the Flames will be looking for a positive start to their Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) Pamoja 2027 qualifying campaign with a win against South Sudan tomorrow, coach Kalisto Pasuwa is rallying on fans to patronise in numbers at Bingu National Stadium to encourage new talent he has brought in.
The new faces in his squad include former Silver Strikers forward, Adiel Kaduya — currently in school in the US — Jordan Kananga of Zacatepec FC, Mexico, Blessings Kanowa of Nankatsu SC, Japan), Jorden Kananga and McDonald Rameck.
Since the new players will be experiencing their debut national team environment, Pasuwa thus asks the fans to patronise the match in numbers.
“We have some boys coming in who are unfamiliar with the Malawi environment,” he is quoted as saying by FAM Media. “Let us encourage them the same way we encouraged Charles Petro.”
FAM Media also quotes Blessings Kanowa saying: “My dream was to one day be part of the national team squad, and now I will do whatever I can to help the team.”
While Adiel Kaduya said: “I have been following the team and watching the games. I was just waiting for my opportunity.”
FAM also reported two days ago that a total of 17 foreign-based players called by Pasuwa arrived in camp including Kaduya and Kanowa.
The others are Babatunde Adepoju, Charles Petro, Denis Chembezi, Chifundo Mphasi, Dominic Loyd Njaliwa, Francisco Madinga, Gomezgani Chirwa, Jorden Kananga, Macdonald Rameck, Patrick Mwaungulu, Richard Mbulu, Washali Jaziya, William Thole, Wisdom Mpinganjira and US-based Mayele Malango.
UK-based Shaquille Gwengwe will not join the squad for the upcoming assignment as the player requested to be excused from the current camp while asking to be considered for selection during the next national team call-up.
A victory in the opening match would give the Flames an important start in their quest to qualify for next year’s finals, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda — under the theme; Pamoja (together).
Two top teams from each of the qualifying groups will qualify for the AfCON Pamoja 2027 and after the South Sudan encounter, the Flames will fly to Angola for Matchday 2, 10 days later.
They will then face Egypt in back-to-back during the November 2026 international window — first travelling to Cairo for Matchday 3 before hosting the Pharaohs in Lilongwe for Matchday 4 within November 9-17.
The Flames will return to action in March 2027 for Matchday 5 against South Sudan and conclude the group campaign with a home match against Angola during Matchday 6 — with both fixtures scheduled between March 22-30, 2027.
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Malawi and South Sudan previously met during the AfCON 2021 qualifiers, with the Flames winning 1-0 aggregate in two legs home and away matches.
The Flames went on to finish second in the group with 10 points and qualified for the finals in Cameroon where they made history by reaching the Round of 16 for the first time.
They lost to Morocco in that knockout stage and after that the Flames missed out on the subsequent two editions.
They finished third behind Egypt and Guinea in the qualifiers for the 2023 finals before finishing bottom of Group L with four points behind Senegal, Burkina Faso and Burundi in the 2025 qualifying campaign.
There is renewed belief in the Flames camp as they begin another qualification campaign under head coach Kalisto Pasuwa.
Pasuwa said most of his charges are ready for the South Sudan encounter, with both experienced players and new faces showing determination in training.
“Overall, most of the guys are ready,” he is quoted by FAM Media. “Even in central midfield, we have some youngsters like Blessings Kanowa, who is also doing very well in the training sessions.
“You can see they are eager to play, and the senior guys like Lloyd Njaliwa are also ready,” said the coach, who also advised his charges against underrating South Sudan.
He stressed the importance of maintaining the right mentality and tactical discipline throughout the encounter.
“In these games, we have to play with the right mindset. When you meet the so-called small teams, those are the teams that can be dangerous.
“So we need to work on our mindset as much as we can, and the approach should be very positive in whatever we do.”
The coach also reported of injury concerns involving Richard Mbulu and Jorden Kananga: “We have Richard Mbulu with a groin injury. It is an old injury from his club, and our medics have been in touch on how best we can manage him.
“Then we have Jorden Kananga, who has an ankle sprain,” the coach is quoted as saying by FAM Media.
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