FAM targeting last 16 at Afcon finals

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) says it is targeting a last 16 qualification for the Flames at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon.

FAM technical subcommittee chairperson Tiya Somba Banda said having beefed up the technical panel by appointing technical director Marian Mario Marinica, they expect to go past the first round of matches.

“Our realistic target is to make the last 16.

“Basically with the little time we had, we could not bring in a new coach, but with the coming in of Mario and Meck [Mwase] in between, they can assist in improving the performance of the team because we shoudn’t lie, the performance of the team has not been good,” he said.

But before he was replaced by Marinica, Mwase told Cosafa show that he was targeting the quarter-finals.

Said Mwase: “We are still a young team and still learning, but we are very confident of doing well at the Cameroon finals,

“Since we have been there twice before, we have not qualified for the quarter-finals and this is what we are fighting for.

“We would like to finish in the semi-finals or even the final. You never know in football.”

Butlast week, Marinica ruled out the possibility of performing wonders in Cameroon.

At its executive committee meeting held on December 3, FAM decided to appoint Marinica to be in charge of the technical panel at Afcon finals and demoted Mwase to an assistant coach in a bid to ensure that the Flames are tactically and technically prepared for the tournament.

Read part of a statement: “This comes against the background of the Flames’ dismal performance in the just-ended Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers, where the team finished bottom of the table.

“Upon reflection, it has become very clear that the team has technical and tactical deficiencies that have to be worked on to turn around its performance.

“After careful consideration, the executive committee approved that the new technical director, Marian Mario Marinica, should temporarily take charge of the Flames as head of technical panel assisted by Meck Mwase.”