Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has sought Fifa’s clarification on the status of Flames captain Frank Gabadinho Mhango on his eligibility for Monday’s 2026 World Cup qualifier against Principe and Sao Tome.
The South Africa-based forward was suspended for Thursday’s qualifier against Equatorial Guinea after accumulating two yellow cards.
But the match failed to take place following Nzalang Nacionale’s no show.
The competition’s rules are not clear on what is supposed to happen under such circumstances.
In an interview yesterday, FAM first vice-president Christopher Madalitso Kuyera, who heads the association’s technical sub-committee, said the world football governing body responded by saying it would advise on the way forward.
He said: “We sought Fifa’s direction because the rules are not specific on this particular situation.
“So, we are crossing our fingers that they [Fifa] will revert to us by Monday. Otherwise, we did not want to be caught off-guard and find ourselves in a situation like South Africa, who forfeited points against Lesotho for fielding a suspended player.
“We want to play it safe.”
Football analyst Felix Ngamaya Sapao hailed FAM for its move.
“Looking at the rules, they are not clear on this particular situation and, therefore, FAM did well to seek clarification,” he said.
Mhango, who is Flames’ joint leading scorer in this campaign alongside Zambia-based Chifundo Mphasi with two goals apiece, was shown the first yellow card against Namibia in Francistown, Botswana.
He was booked again in the subsequent match against Liberia at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
The 33-year-old marksman scored in the two past qualifiers against Nambia and Liberia.
