Malawi boys team in CAFSchools qualifying tourney final

The Malawi schools boys team has qualified for the CAF Schools Championship-Cosafa Qualifiers’ final in Harare Zimbabwe following a 2-0 victory over e-Swatini in their last Group A match on Friday.

They have done it as group winners with a maximum 12 points after winning all their matches.

They will play in the final today at noon against Group B winners, South Africa.

Malawi boys team coach Moses Chimbetete said: “We are happy to have qualified for the final. I thank my boys for their awesome performance and we are ready for the final tomorrow [today].”

Against e-Swatini, Shadreck Nyirenda and Ishmael Bwanali were on target for Malawi while James Lumbe was named player-of-the-match.

Earlier on, they beat Botswana 2-1.

However, the girls’ team, which beat e-Swatini 5-0 in their last group fixture on Friday, will play for the third-place against Namibia at 9am.

Initially, the girls thought they had made the final on overall goal difference following a tie on eight points with Botswana and Mozambique.

But Cosafa clarified that the first criterion for deciding group winners after at least three teams tie on points was the greatest number on points obtained in the matches among the concerned teams.

This meant that Botswana girls will play in the final against Group B winners, South Africa, as they have a two-goal advantage among the three teams that were tied on points.

The Malawi girls’ team coach Linda Kasenda said: “I am disappointed. After the game, the girls were happy. They were dancing celebrating that they had reached the final only to be told later that we have not. All the same, we have understood and we will still fight for position three.”