Ngwenya being welcomed by FAM’s technical director John Kaputa on his arrival at Chileka Airport
* He expects the Glasgow-born left back to reinforce his defence following injury of Precious Sambani
* The 18-year-old was born to a Malawian father and a Caribbean mother
* It is an honour to be considered for national team duty, so I took the opportunity
Maravi Express
Coach Meck Mwase is upbeat that the Flames ? new recruit, Scotland-based left-back Kieran Ngwenya, has come at the right time as “he will provide an immediate option on the left back following the injury of Precious Sambani”.
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The 18-year-old Ngwenya arrived in the country on Saturday a few days after accepting Mwase’s call up the squad that is set to play against Tanzania ?? in next week’s international friendly match.
The young lad has given Mwase the chance to reinforce his squad ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which start in September and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals to be held in Cameroun ?? from January.
“He is a young player who is playing at top level and will add value to the squad,” Mwase is quoted as saying by Football Association of Malawi (FAM) website, fam.mw.
Meck Mwase
Ngwenya, who was born to a Malawian father and a Caribbean mother, plays for Aberdeen FC in the Scottish Premiership.
Ngwenya — as reported by fam.mw — joined Aberdeen Under-18 side from Tynecastle Colts in 2019 and has risen through the team’s ranks going all the way to feature for the first team.
During the 2020/2021 season, he featured in the first team match day squad on 12 occasions and made two appearances in the Scottish Premiership and on both occasions coming on as a substitute.
Ngwenya says this is an honour
He was on the bench when Aberdeen lost 1-4 away and 1-2 to the eventual champions Rangers coached by Liverpool and England legend Steven Gerald.
On March 25, he was loaned for two months to Scottish League One side Cove Rangers. The loan expired on May 12 and he has since returned to Aberdeen where he is expected to join Aberdeen First team for pre-season on his return from Malawi.
“I would like to thank FAM for making an effort to bring the player to join us. I would also like to thank the parents and his agent Elliot Fillingham for making it possible.”
FAM president, Walter Nyamilandu told fam.mw that Ngwenya’s inclusion fulfills one of the association’s strategic intent to strengthen the national teams by scouting for Malawian talent in diaspora.
“During our January 2020 executive committee meeting, we resolved to go flat out and trace talented players with Malawian roots across the world and convince them to play for Malawi.
“We are happy that we have made a break-through with Kieran, a highly rated youngster playing top level football with a big future ahead of him.
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“At 18 he has a lot of years to play for the Flames. We will continue to scout for more players,” Nyamilandu told fam.mw.
In his remarks, the left-back said: “It’s an honour to be given an opportunity to represent the Flames. I’m excited to get involved and meet the team.”
He added that he is looking forward to help the Flames improve and get good results.
“It came up as a shock to me when the call up came up. It is an honour to be considered for national team duty, so I took the opportunity.
The Flames have been enriched
“This is great for me to be involved with the national team. But I also think it is really a big thing to represent your country in anything.
“When I play, I want to help the team to more success. I will give out my all and work hard for the team. People should expect energy and commitment,” he said.
The Flames were expected to start their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers away to Cameroun ?? between June 5-8 before hosting Mozambique ?? on match day 2 between June 11-14 but the window was cancelled due to current challenges caused by the CoVID-19 pandemic.
They now start against Côte d’Ivoire ?? in back-to-back fixtures — starting at home between September 1-4 and away between September 5-8.
Their last home match will be against Cameroun ?? between October 6-9 and wind up the campaign away in Mozambique ?? between October 10-12.
The June qualifiers would probably be shifted to March 2022 existing window — just after the AFCON finals.
The winners of the 10 groups will qualify for the next round where they will face off to identify the five teams that will qualify for the Qatar finals.
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