* Impressed with FAM’s transformation agenda after an engagement meeting held at Mpira Village yesterday
* We were concerned with the recent poor performance of the Malawi national football team and wanted to understand the reasons behind this
By Duncan Mlanjira
After its engagement with Football Association of Malawi (FAM) yesterday at Mpira Village in Chiwembe Township, Limbe, the Parliamentary Committee on Social & Community Affairs took note that FAM does not get enough funding from government which is affecting their operations that culminates into poor performance of the national teams — especially Malawi Flames.
According to the Committee’s chairperson, Savel Kafwafwa, they were concerned with the recent performance of the Flames and decided to visit Mpira Village for an engagement with FAM president, Fleetwood Haiya and his senior management to understand what FAM is doing to correct the situation.
Fam.mw reports that after the engagement, the Committee was impressed with FAM’s commitment towards transformation of football in the country and MP Kafwafwa is quoted as saying, being a new administration at FAM under the leadership of Haiya, the committee “wanted to get familiar with what they are doing to improve the game”.
MP Kafwafwa
“We were concerned with the recent poor performance of the Malawi national football team,” Kafwafwa is quoted as saying in direct reference to the miserable performance of the Flames in the Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) Morocco 2025 qualifiers.
MP Kafwafwa took note that as a new administration, FAM “is doing their best and their vision to transform the game is on track”.
“We have noted they do not get enough funding from government which is affecting their operations,” he said. “So we are going to engage the responsible Ministry and Malawi National Council of Sports to see how best we can resolve the situation.
“We are going back satisfied seeing the commitment from the leadership the to ensure that Malawi football is transformed and the Flames qualify for the 2027, AfCON finals,” he said.
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The Flames are out of the race for the most coveted for African tournament having lost all four games of the qualifiers — remaining with two, which are just ceremonial against Burundi away at neutral venue in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso at Bingu National Stadium on Monday.
Under coach Patrick Mabedi, who has since been fired as per the exit clause of his contract, the Flames are without a point in the qualifiers having first been beaten 3-2 by Burundi at Bingu National Stadium before Burkina Faso triumphed 3-1 at their home pitch while Senegal won 4-0 at home and 1-0 in Lilongwe in back-to-back.
Senegal and Burkina Faso have already qualified for the finals in Morocco but Burkina Faso, as well as Burundi, will certainly make sure they keep their clean sheet against the Flames while interim coaching panel of head coach Kalisto Pasuwa will work out to salvage some pride in winning the remaining fixtures.
AfCON 2025 standings
On his part, Haiya is quoted by Fam.mw as saying FAM “is grateful for the committee’s visit as it will help solve the problems affecting the game among them the national team performance if funding issues are addressed”.
“We took advantage of the meeting to highlight the challenges that we are facing. We have shared our concerns with the committee, one of which is the issue funding.
“The national teams belong to the government but do not get adequate financial support which we have asked to be addressed. As FAM, we give our maximum outputs within our limited resources.
“We have asked the committee to lobby for us to have a separate funding vote for the national teams in the national budget. This, we believe, will help us have enough resources and enable us to plan properly for our activities because we would know how much is allocated to us.
“After this meeting, we believe that that Committee is going to take our concerns to the rightful authorities and we will see improved support which will enable the national team to start doing well,” Haiya said.
Haiya hinted that for the Flames to do well, it needs a strong foundation from the grassroots, whose talent could be identified for the national teams — from U17, U20 and U23, before being nurtured into the senior Flames.
Already, FAM has facilitated the involvement of junior national teams, including the schools tournament, that saw Salima Secondary School winning the silver medal during the CAF School Championship-COSAFA qualifier.
The result qualified them for the continental championship where they ended on 3rd place and in total of the prize money, the school team earned US$225,000, which is US$75,000 from the COSAFA qualifier and US$150,000 from the continental championship.
The prize money was aligned to be utilised for developmental projects within the school and Salima, FAM and CAF collaborated to purchase electric cooking pots (US$40,000); the school’s maize mill maintainance (US$2,000); football pitch maintenance (US$17,000); fence construction (US$160,000) and sports equipment (US$6,000).
At the inauguration of the 4th edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League-COSAFA qualifier, which FAM hosted last August, Haiya promised of more exciting international events for national teams — emphasising that if Malawi is to continue participate in international tournaments, the exceptional players would have high chances of being spotted and taken abroad.
He took note that the girls that are currently plying their trades in foreign countries — such as sisters Tabitha & Temwa Chawinga; Chimwemwe Madise; Ireen Khumalo; Vitumbiko Mkandawire; Rose Kadzere; Vanessa Chikupira; Mary Chavinda and Sabina Thom — were spotted through international competitions.
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Thus FAM’s continued focus to accord players the opportunity for international exposure at all football levels — women’s, schools, U17, U20 and U23 — and the Flames itself that earns talent from the junior national teams.
For replacing Mabedi with the Pasuwa-led caretaker technical team, FAM is focused to keep the rhythm as they negotiate with Ministry of Sports through the Malawi National Council of Sports to commence immediate recruitment of the team’s permanent coach to steer the team in the FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualifiers scheduled for next year.
They are grouped alongside Tunisia, Namibia, Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé e Principe and the next qualifying match days are in March 2025 up against Namibia followed by an away fixture to Tunisia before meeting Namibia again away and Liberia at home — both in September 2025.
Then in October, the Flames will host Equatorial Guinea before traveling to confront São Tomé e Principe, whom they beat 3-1 at Bingu National Stadium in June’s Matchday 3 before losing 0-1 in Matchday 4 away to Equatoguineans.
FIFA World Cup 2026™ table
The Flames won 1-0 in their opening campaign away to Liberia, losing 0-1 at home against Tunisia to perch on 4th place in Group H in the race for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ to be hosted jointly by the United States of America, Mexico and Canada.
Thus such congestion of programmes needs sound funding, which the Parliamentary Committee on Social & Community Affairs was appraised for by FAM to lobby to the authorities that if given enough resources, it would enable the association to plan properly for its activities.
After the meeting, the committee was taken on a tour of the Mpira Village and its maginificent Mpira Stadium as highlighted below:
