Charles Petro: Malawi’s only surviving flame of hope in Europe

* The former Nyasa Big Bullets star is the only recognisable Malawian professional footballer based in Europe

* He has opted to fight for his career and starting place under difficult circumstances

* Being pushed and shoved from centre-back to right-back and left-back to holding midfielder

Pan African Football

Malawi football gems Charles Petro and Peter Banda boarded a flight in Blantyre heading to Europe in 2021, their luggage heavy with the southern African nation’s collective dream.

The duo inked for FC Sheriff Tiraspol in the Moldova Super League, months after compatriot Francisco Madinga had joined Dila Gori next door in Georgia. 

This was supposed to be the genesis of their dreams and that of a nation played in a distant 131 on FIFA’s World Rankings. 

Most Malawians dreamt of seeing the trio eventually crawling their way into Premier League teams such as Arsenal and Manchester United. Since gaining independence from British rule in 1964, no Malawian has come close to that feat.

Familiar reverse flight back home

However, what eventually happened to the three players deflated those hopes. Once again, barely after two seasons, forwards Peter Banda and Madinga fled Europe. It was probably due to weather, cultural shock, food and the language barrier — the usual stumbling blocks for Malawians who try their luck abroad.

Peter Banda returned to Africa claiming Simba SC in Tanzania was a better refuge. He made the U-turn even after being part of Sheriff’s non-playing squad that stunned Real Madrid 2-1 in a UEFA Champions League match at the Santiago Bernabeu on September 29, 2021.

Regret was the collective feeling back home in Malawi’s biggest cities: Blantyre and the capital Lilongwe. It was a reminder of a very familiar story of Malawian football.

A reminder of other Malawians such as Robin Ngalande, who dumped Atletico Madrid’s reserve team in 2012 right when he was knocking on the door of Diego Simeone’s main team.

He opted for a return to Bidvest Wits in South Africa before his career all ended in a reverse to nowhere.

Madinga, too, took a very familiar retrogressive step, returning to Malawi where childhood club Mighty Wanderers offered him the comfort zone he craves.

Exceptional Petro hangs in there

However, in life as in football, there are always exceptions such as utility player Petro who has kept his dream for Europe football ablaze since 2021 — not in Moldova but now in Romania.

The former Nyasa Big Bullets star is the only recognisable Malawian professional footballer based in Europe. He has opted to fight for his career and starting place under difficult circumstances, being pushed and shoved from centre-back to right-back and left-back to holding midfielder.

To his credit, the prayerful young man told Pan-Africa Football that he understood his assignment and that nobody would give him anything on a silver platter in Europe.

“I always tell myself that challenges are everywhere and the best way is to face them head-on and adapt. You have to fight,” he explained.

Petro, whose recall to the Flames was instrumental in 0-0 draw with Burundi and 3-0 win over Burkina Faso in the last Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) Morocco 2025 qualifiers, has opened up on the challenges of playing in a foreign land, how he is coping, and what his career ambitions are.

The Flames defender moved from Sheriff in Moldova to Romanian elite league side, FC Botoșani on a three-year contract in 2023. He has since made 12 appearances for coach Liviu Ciobotariu’s team this season.

Reflecting on his career, the 24-year-old said he has learned to embrace challenges while sticking to his dream of playing at the highest level abroad: “It is just by sheer grace that I am still here in Europe,” he said.

The former Bullets centre-back cited the chopping and changing of coaches in Europe as a particular challenge he has had to deal with.

“When a new coach comes, he brings his ideas and players he thinks can do a better job for him and that can affect one’s chances of playing regularly but I just soldier on,” said the defender whose younger brother Ernest plays for Bullets.

The Flames utility player was in action the previous Wednesday when FC Botoșani beat bottom-placed Gloria Buzau 2-0. He was, however,  an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw with Dinamo Bucuresti on February 7, 2025 and 1-0 win over the same opponents win on Monday, February 17, 2025.

Botoșani are struggling in the Super Liga, lying third from bottom with only four points separating them from bottom-placed Gloria Buzau. Up the 16-member table, CFR Cluj led proceedings on superior goal aggregate over second-placed FCSB, who recently faced Manchester United in the Europa League.

Petro will be among key players for newly-appointed Flames coach Kalisto Pasuwa when the Flames begin World Cup qualifiers against Namibia next month.

There are other Malawians such as Kieran Ngwenya in England, but most are not ready to play for the Flames due to a lack of interest and eligibility issues.

Esau Kanyenda’s close attempt

Esau Kanyenda’s UEFA Champions League substitute appearance with Russian side FC Lokomotiv Moscow in 2005 was the closest a Malawian got to big-time European football.

The likes of Dan Chitsulo, Robin Ngalande, Joseph Kamwendo and Russel Mwafulirwa could not realise their full potential in Germany, Spain, Sweden and Denmark in the last two decades. 

Failure to adapt to conditions in Europe is always a challenge for Malawian footballers. At the turn of the century, Jonathan Lungu and Gift Zakazaka abandoned trials in Belgium over freezing weather conditions. Consequently, no Malawian has ever played in the English Premier League.

In Petro, there is a flame of hope of him finding his way to England one day. It is a near impossible dream but then with this Blantyre-born fighter, never say never.

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