Equatorial Guinea’s failure to turn up for yesterday’s 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier against the Flames sent fans into mixed reactions as they celebrated the default points for Malawi while demanding refund for entry tickets they had purchased.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) yesterday announced the cancellation of the match, six hours before the game which was scheduled to kick off at 6pm at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
A statement from FAM said the match would not take place “due to unforeseen travel complications affecting the visiting team”.
Following the development, Fifa has officially awarded Malawi a 3-0 victory, granting the Flames three points by default.
Malawi now have 13 points, but are still fourth in the pool which also has Tunisia, Namibia, Sao Tome and Liberia who were all playing yesterday.
The decision follows Fifa’s standard disciplinary regulations, which state that any team failing to honour a scheduled fixture without valid justification forfeits the match with a 3–0 loss.
According to Fifa’s Disciplinary Code, Article 55, any association that fails to appear for a match “without valid reasons” may also be fined and, in severe cases, could face exclusion from the competition.
But while celebrating the default points for the Flames, FAM now faces a headache of how to meet the costs of organising a match that never took place.
FAM had already committed resources towards logistics, accommodation, security, match officials’ allowances and stadium preparation.
Fans had also purchased tickets in advance, expecting to witness the Flames’ final home fixture in the qualifiers.
Following the announcement, some fans still flocked to the match venue to demand refund for their unused tickets.
FAM competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka in an interview yesterday said they will communicate on the next course of action as they await Fifa decision.
FAM may, however, demand compensation from Equatorial Guinea.
Meanwhile, fans that bought the entry tickets for the match have been asked to keep them for future matches or use them for the upcoming Scorchers’ 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Angola.
