‘Missing Chan big blow’
Football analysts say Malawi will miss out a lot after failing to participate in the 2024 TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (Chan) which kicks off later this month.
Malawi is not taking part in the competition reserved for players plying their trade in their respective countries because Football Association of Malawi (FAM) did not register for the competition last year due to lack of funds, according to a statement the association issued in August 2023.
The qualifiers were supposed to be played last year with the final set for this year.
However, the competition was delayed after CAF failed to secure sponsors.
All other members of Council for Southern Africa Football Association (Cosafa) except Malawi are participating in the competition.
Football analyst Raymond Siyaya said Malawi has missed an opportunity to expose local players who form the bulk of the Flames squad but lack international exposure.
He said: “This was the best platform to gauge how our national league stands against other leagues. For our local players to stand toe to toe against players in the so-called big leagues is a huge morale booster for the development of our local players.”
On his part, football analyst Charles Nyirenda said although Malawi will be losing out, FAM made the right call not to participate.
“I will say it without mincing words that we are not serious with our football development. We are not investing in our national teams. Government should seriously think of investing in our national teams or else we will remain stagnant.”
Currently, Malawi is participating in CAF 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
Malawi National Council of Sports spokesperson Edgar Ntulumbwa in interview said FAM did not include Chan in its 2024 programmes.
“We only fund programmes which we have been asked to fund by the association,” he said.
FAM communications and competitions director Gomezgani Zakazaka said the 2024 TotalEnergies Chan was never in their plans.
“We already indicated that we are not participating in 2024 Chan last year. Teams that are participating this year were all engaged last year,” he said.