Mabedi for new blood

 Flames interim coach Patrick Mabedi has reiterated the need to give a chance to youngsters at the 2023 Cosafa Cup in Durban, South Africa.

Malawi National Football Team regroups this Sunday for the regional tournament slated for July 5 to 16 and Mabedi, in an interview after being held to a goalless draw by Ethiopia in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier, said the youngsters are the future of the Flames.

The former Kaizer Chiefs tactician, who handed

 Lanjesi Nkhoma, Chikumbutso Salima and Chifundo Mphasi their competitive debut said he was impressed with the

youngsters’ performance.

He said: “Like I said before, we need to look into the future of the team. That’s why I want to give these youngsters a chance. The transition of youngsters to replace the old players is very important.

“You could see [in the match against Ethiopia] that we tried to come up with a team of experienced players. As time went on, you could see the tempo of the game dropping.

“You could see that we were lacking a little bit of energy. That’s why we need to try to look into the future and build a team that will take us a long way.”

 Mabedi’s plans to take youngsters to the Cosafa Cup will be a departure for Malawi at the tournament.

Malawi, according to Cosafa, is one of the countries that feature a strong squad at the regional tournament, including the last edition.

The Flames’ most decorated player Frank Gabadinho Mhango has featured at all Cosafa Cup tournaments since 2016.

However, the Flames have in the past four years failed to go past the group stage.

In contrast, countries such as Angola, Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia treat the Cosafa Cup as a developmental tournament.

Soccer analyst Patrick Zgambo said Mabedi’s plans to introduce more youngsters in the Flames squad can only succeed if backed by Football

Association of Malawi (FAM).

He said: “At this point, what Mabedi is saying is right, but he is in such a precarious position to make such a bold but truthful statement. Unless this view is shared by FAM who should back this long term project. Otherwise, it will only be convenient for Mabedi to also end up a statistic and fall guy whenever things falter.”

But FAM competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka said the association ensures that it supports all the coaches.

He said: “Our responsibility is to ensure that the Flames coach gets maximum support in all his programmes.”

At the Cosafa, Malawi’s Flames will start the campaign against defending champions Zambia on July 6 at King

 Zwelithini Stadium in Durban, South Africa.

Malawi’s second match in Group B will be against Seychelles on July 9 at the same venue before wrapping up the group stages against islanders Comoros on July 11 at Chatsworth Stadium.

The 2023 edition will be held under a new format in which all teams start from group stages. There will be no Plate Section.

Under the new format, the 12 teams taking part have been split into three groups of four sides, with the three pool winners and the best runner-up advancing to the semi-finals.

Last year, the Flames the under fired Mario Marinica, only managed a 1-0 win over a Mauritius second-string side, a 1-1 draw against e-Swatini and a 2-1 loss to Lesotho, to bow out in the group stage