Haiya being honoured with the bronze medal
* They won the bronze after beating Saudi Arabia 5-4 in a very tight third place play-off
* They lost 6-9 to Morocco in the semi-final that ended Malawi’s hopes of winning their first-ever COSAFA Beach Soccer Championship title
Maravi Express
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president, Fleetwood Haiya has promised continued support as for the COSAFA Beach Soccer Championship bronze medalists, saying the Malawi national team has great potential to make it to the World Cup.
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He made the pledge when he and Minister of Local Government, Richard Chimwendo Banda hosted the team last evening at the Douglas Hotel in Lilongwe to officially welcome them back home from South Africa where they won the bronze.
As a token of appreciating, Haiya also pledged K500,000 to each of the the squad members for their achievements at the COSAFA Beach Soccer Championship.
They won the bronze after beating Saudi Arabia 5-4 in a very tight third place play-off through goals from Isaac Kajamu (11′, 17’), O’Brien Nkhumbula (15′, 31’) and Simba Dala (32′).
They lost 6-9 to Morocco in the semi-final that ended Malawi’s hopes of winning their first-ever COSAFA Beach Soccer Championship title since the competition was introduced in 2015.
In 2015, Malawi won the silver medal after a 4-9 loss to Madagascar in Seychelles and although Malawi lost to Morocco in the semi-final, the team put up a gallant fight.
Malawi also lost 3-7 to Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals held in Vilankulo, Mozambique.
The feat against Saudi Arabia comes after they lost 1-5 to the Arab side in the second game of the group stage after they had beaten South Africa 4-2 in the opening match before thrashing Seychelles 7-2 in the last group stage match.
Saudi Arabia, Morocco and 2021 CAF Beach Soccer AFCON silver-medalists, Tanzania were teams outside the COSAFA that participated on invitation.
Ahead of the championship, Haiya had encouraged the team that they had all the potential to win the COSAFA Beach Soccer Championship, taking cognizance that Malawi finished as runners-up in their only appearance at the regional competition during the inaugural championship in Seychelles in 2015.
The team misses out two editions of 2021 and 2022 and the FAM president maintained that despite not playing in many competitions since the team was formed in 2015, they have not disappointed whenever they are given an opportunity to compete.
He had said winning the silver in their debut international tournament was a great achievement and since then, they have been exposed to having played in three COPA Dar es Salaam competitions and the AFCON.
The COSAFA Beach Championship follows the recent conclusion of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where Africa was represented by reigning champions Senegal and runners-up Egypt.
Senegal, who dethroned Mozambique as CAF Beach Soccer AFCON champions in 2022, were present in the last COSAFA Beach Soccer Championship as an invitational side alongside Egypt.—Info and pictures from Fam.mw
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