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FAM plan to camp in Cameroon for Nigeria tie

Nyamilandu (L) stressing a point during Tuesday's press briefing flanked by Sainfiet
Nyamilandu (L) stressing a point during Tuesday’s press briefing flanked by Sainfiet

FAM has disclosed plans to have the Flames camp in Cameroon until just a day before their decisive 2014 World Cup qualifier against Nigeria.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu also said they are in the process of asking Fifa to seriously consider changing the venue from Calabar to either Abuja or Lagos on security grounds because of Boko Haram terrorist attacks.

The reigning African champions are slated to host the Flames on September 6.

Said Nyanilandu: “We are planning to camp either in Cameroon or Ghana until 24 hours prior to the match to avoid psychological warfare to our players because Nigeria is well known for giving hostile reception to visiting teams.

“They are likely to set the intimidation wheel spinning as soon as we jet in such as detaining us at the airport or not providing us with a training ground. There will definitely be a battle off the field to distract our players.”

He also confirmed the move to ask the world football governing body to shift the venue saying: “We have a valid case because there are security concerns in Calabar which is flagged as one of the high-risk security zones.

“So, we are not comfortable with security arrangements and we would want to play in an area where the security of our team will be guaranteed.”

The FAM president also said they will be sending an advanced party to prepare the team’s stay.

“But over and above that, our players will have to be mentally strong and have the heart to stand the heat,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Flames will not go into camp ahead of the friendly match against Rwanda slated for next Wednesday in Kigali.

Nyamilandu said the move has advantages in that it makes technical and economic sense.

“It makes technical sense because most of the players that have been selected are based abroad and we stand to save on costs because the team will assemble in Rwanda,” said Nyamilandu.

The Flames must beat Nigeria to qualify for the final phase of qualification for the 2014 global showpiece as they are trailing the Super Eagles by two points ahead of the final qualifier.

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2 Comments

  1. Does Malawian FA know anything about Nigerian Geography?

    Calabar is in South South of the country. Funny enough Abuja is closer to the “Boko Haram” enclaves than Calabar. Calabar in terms of crowd and security is the best bet for the Malawian national team.
    You really don’t want to play in Lagos, if you are planning on not getting whitewashed.
    Calabar Fans are bias of course but not intimidating to any Eagles opponent. Calabar is perhaps the safest place in Nigeria.

    Moving the game to Lagos or Abuja is not helpful to the Flames at all

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