National Sports

Kinnah keeps faith in Kanyenda, Kamwendo

Malawi national football team coach Kinnah Phiri has kept faith in striker Esau Kanyenda and winger Joseph Kamwendo, and has since hinted on their inclusion in the squad expected to start camp on Sunday.

“He still is a good player. I have given him an opportunity to prove his worth. We will be in camp for three weeks and that is enough time for him to gain his fitness and prove himself. It is enough time to assess him,” Kinnah said about Kanyenda on Monday.

He also said that he is trying to arrange a meeting with Kanyenda, who is currently in the country, to discuss his professional prospects.

In an interview, Kanyenda expressed gratitude to Kinnah for the consideration he has given him.

“Since the TNM [Super League] season is over, I will be training with Silver Youth just to keep fit. But I am glad to get a call-up,” he said.

On his professional prospects, Kanyenda admitted that he is in the dark as to which club he will be playing next.

“My agent [Alex Bondarenko] told me that he is in talks with two clubs in Angola, but as of now, nothing concrete has been reached. The league in Angola starts in March, so there is still time for a deal to be reached,” he said.

The former Rostov FC player could not reveal the names of the clubs his agent is pursuing deals with, saying Bondarenko has the details.

Meanwhile, Kinnah has said apart from Kamwendo, the majority of the players called for camp are those that took part in the Cecafa tournament in Tanzania last year.

“I have decided to maintain the squad that I took to Tanzania. There is great potential in that team and if the players can stay together for some time and play a lot of international games, the future looks good,” he said, adding that he is not sure about the forms of the other professionals who do not have clubs yet.

The Flames are scheduled to take on Chad on February 29 in the 2013 African Nations Cup (Afcon) qualifiers, but before the game, the Flames are expected to tune up against either Mozambique or Zimbabwe, according to Kinnah.

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