Rigorous Nations Cup campaign awaits Flames
FAM has said in the event that Flames win the second preliminary stage of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations they will play in the third preliminary round in July before they can qualify for the group stages.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda said he got clarification on the format from the continent’s football governing body CAF.
The first legs of the first preliminary round were played at the weekend while the return legs are slated for next weekend.
Teams involved in round one of the preliminaries are Eritrea, South Sudan, Mauritius and Mauritania and two of them will qualify for the second preliminary round to join those that will start at this stage, including the Flames.
“After the second preliminary round those that will emerge winners will also be drawn for the third preliminary stage to determine teams that will join 21 top teams in the CAF ranking to qualify for the group phase.
“The seven other countries to partake in the group phase, shall be determined following the conclusion of the preliminary rounds,” stated Nyirenda in a press release issued yesterday.
The group phase will be played from the weekend of September 5 and 6 to November 19 2014.Nyirenda admitted that qualifying for the group stages alone, will be a rigorous exercise.
“It will not be as straightforward as we had anticipated because there will be two preliminary qualifying rounds,” said Nyirenda.
Meanwhile, FAM has announced that the Flames have been invited to Tanzania for an international friendly match against the Taifa Stars on May 4 to commemorate the opening of a new stadium.
