Flames greatly missed services of Gaba against Liberia; Need for coach Mabedi to come out in open whether he has personal issues with the player

* The qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is very long and we have tough contenders in the name of Tunisia

* To enhance all chances of qualifying we needed more goals against Liberia that would work to our advantage

* For the nine best runners-up from each group in case it came to that for the Flames after Match Day 10 in 2025

We don’t need personal issues attached to our football. Let’s call it a spade by its name — from what is being gathered on the ground, it seems Flames’ coach Patrick Mabedi has some personal disdain over Frank Gabadinho Mhango.

From what is trending on social media, it seems Mabedi might be incensed with unsubstantiated reports that Gaba is dating his daughter who goes by the name Anita Phoenix Mabedi on social media.

Intimate pictures of Gaba and Anita have been shared on social media after coach Mabedi stopped Football Association of Malawi (FAM) from booking another flight for the player to Liberia after he missed his earlier itinerary.

Mabedi described Gaba’s missing the flight as “indiscipline” and was backed by FAM president Walter Nyamilandu, who told the media that the coach’s decision was “purely on disciplinary grounds and that the door has not been closed on Gaba”.

Gaba was ready to travel to Liberia after missing his flight, saying he thought it was at 1pm but only to discover at OR Tambo International Airport it was actually at 11am.

The bad blood between the two was exacerbated when Mabedi asked that the player should apologise for missing the flight but an image on social media — which could possibly not have been created by Gaba, retorted “apologise for what? Is missing a flight indiscipline?”

I agree with those on the side of Gaba. There is more to it than meets the eye and it is at the expense of the whole nation. We shouldn’t allow this to continue.

If true that Gaba is dating Mabedi’s daughter, it’s none of the coach’s business, for heaven’s sake — none! Let the two solve their relationship by themselves and if the coach is not comfortable about it, go hang.

From what I saw on the images, the two supposedly lovebirds seem to be excited of each other — Gaba being a football icon and she being a commercial model, brand promoter, event host, content creator, currently the top 10 finalists for active lifestyle brands and she plans to open a modeling agency in Malawi.

She seems to be on an independent path to stardom and while I do appreciate that Mabedi played a huge role in her upbringing, issues of her intimate life are best handled by herself — whether its Gaba in the mix or some other Tsotsi in South Africa — period.

Let’s talk football and Gaba should be in the equation. Eric Cantona was a firebrand player and he decided quitting playing for France for personal feud with his FA and while he might have been missed for a while, France carried on without him.

So too with Gaba. His services were missed against Liberia and if he does not apologise and makes a decision to quit the Flames — as alluded to in an interview with The Nation — we will miss him for a while and soon to be forgotten.

But for now we need his services and very badly. The qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is very long and we have tough contenders in the name of Tunisia, whom we play against just this Tuesday at Bingu Stadium.

Also in contention are Sao Tome e Principe and Equatorial Guinea, who also edged Namibia 1-0 on Wednesday and now share three points with the Flames.

 

Liberia were not the team that was feared before. Just last month, they were beaten 0-3 by Morocco in Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Cote d’Ivoire 2023 qualifier and in Friday’s match, the Flames were all over their opponents and missed golden chances.

The presence of Gaba alone could have had an effect on the opponents for sure and while many are saying we did it without Gaba and it’s fine that way, I differ because I am looking at the bigger picture.

The 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup tournament — to be hosted jointly by the United States of America, Mexico and Canada — will have 48 participating countries instead of the conventional 32 giving an advantage for Africa to field more teams.

The top team from each group after Match Day 10 shall earn an automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup finals and additionally, the four best second-placed teams from all nine groups will engage in a continental playoff, determining a single victor who will then proceed to a second and final playoff. 

This final stage will comprise six teams from various confederations, with the top two emerging as qualified participants, ultimately making up the 48 competing teams.

So this is a complex qualification format for the next two years and every man counts for the Match Days that have began this week — November 13-21, 2023.

The next match days will be held on June 3-11, 2024; March 17-25, 2025; September 1-9, 2025; October 6-14, 2025; and November 10-18, 2025.

Egypt didn’t need to have their talisman Mohamed Salah in their qualifier against Djibouti but was still part of the squad that annihilated the Horn of African country in which the Liverpool star scored four goals in their 6-0 triumph.

This is what we are talking about — cohesion to enhance all chances of qualifying because we needed more goals against Liberia that would work to our advantage for the nine best runners-up from each group in case it came to that for the Flames.

As a matter of urgency, FAM should intervene in this bad blood between Mabedi and Gaba so that the player should be available for the Tuesday’s game against the hot contenders, Tunisia.

Mind you, the Carthage Eagles will come to Malawi with the focus to erase their injured ego they suffered through defeats against Japan 0-2 and 0-4 to South Korea in strength-testing matches.

They are also going to use the match as preparation for the AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 in which they are grouped with South Africa, Namibia and Mali.

Otherwise, congratulations to Mabedi and his team for the win and we look forward to another celebration on Tuesday against the mighty Tunisia — and with Gaba, of course.

The report by Fam.mw, Mabedi handed forward Olson Kanjira a debut but maintained the rest of the squad with Brighton Munthali in goals; Denis Chembezi, Lawrence Chaziya, Stanley Sanudi and Tatenda M’balaka in defence.

The midfield had Lloyd Aaron, Chimwemwe Idana, John Banda, Lanjesi Nkhoma and Robert Gomez Saizi with Kanjira as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 system.

Packing the midfield helped the Flames to take control of the middle of the pack battle, said the report, asking just five minutes into the match, Malawi had their first chance when Idana broke through on the right to set Kanjira, but his shot from inside the box was blocked.

From the rebound, John Banda set Aaron but his shot was saved by Liberia goalkeeper Boison and the Flames wasted another chance in 7th minute when Lanjesi and Saizi took a shot corner, exchanged a few passes before crossing it inside for Idana, who miscued his shot. The ball fell in the path of Chaziya but he blasted it over with only the keeper to beat.

Idana then set his captain CJ Banda just outside the box and the skipper took a long-range shot which was collected by the keeper.

Mabedi made double substitution at half-time as Nkhoma and Kanjira paved the way for Wisdom Mpinganjira and Christopher Kumwembe while Zambia-based Kabwe Warriors forward Chifundo Mphasi was introduced in the 67th minute to replace Saizi.

The substitute broke the deadlock 10 minutes later, blasting home from within the box and Mabedi sealed the game by taking off Idana and bringing in Blessings Mpokera.