No breakthrough

Malawi’s wish to export more players to European leagues remains a pipe dream as the number of exports has dropped from five to just one within the last five years.

Currently, defender Charles Petro, who plays for Romanian top-flight league side AFC Botosani, is the country’s only Europe-based export.

Four others, Peter Banda (Sheriff Tiraspol, Moldova), Robin Ngalande (Zira FC, Arzebaijan), Yamikani Chester (MKF Vyskov, Czech, but was loaned to Las Vegas Lights in the USA) and Francisco Madinga (FC Dila Gori, Georgia) are back in Africa.

And while the country has some up-and-coming players being developed in football academies in the diaspora, so far, it is only US-based forward Henri Kumwenda who has made a breakthrough into the Flames’  squad.

Former Flames coach Ernest ‘Wire’ Mtawali, the only Malawian to have played in one of the five top European leagues and players’ agent Felix Ngamanya Sapao said lack of sound development structures, adequate exposure, connections as well as Flames’ poor ranking, are some of the stumbling blocks.

Mtawali, who starred for French Ligue 1 side Toulouse between 1997 and 1999, said: “The potential is there, but we do not have sound development structures in place, including established academies as is the case in most African countries.”

The former midfielder, who also had stints in top Argentine and Saudi Arabian leagues, further cited local players’ lack of exposure as another contributing factor.

“Malawi national youth teams hardly make it to major international tournaments, a development that reduces chances of players being scouted by European teams and agents,” he said.

Mtawali also said the Flames’ three-bracket ranking compounds the situation as most European teams opt for players from countries that are ranked among the top-70, “unless if the player is exceptionally good or plays in a country that is ranked in the top 100”.

The retired footballer, who nearly became the first Malawian to play in the English top-flight league in 1993 when he was signed by Nottingham Forest before the deal was cancelled due to a dispute between the club and his agent, further said inadequate  football infrastructure such as good pitches, training facilities and equipment also make it difficult for players to develop and showcase their skills.

“Most Malawian players also do not have access to top-notch coaching, which is essential for developing the skills and tactics needed to compete at top level. And after all is said, networking also helps a lot.” Mtawali said.

On his part, Sapao said currently, European football favours players that graduate from sound development structures, “especially those that continuously play in organised football below the age of 12/13”.

He said Malawi only embarked on such structures in the last decade while countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique  and Tanzania have had them for many years.

“The other problem is networking and knowing how one gets to do transfers. Believe me, we will shortly start getting more players to Europe, starting with the class D, C or B classified leagues in Europe and grow from there,” he said.

Sapao said most Zambian players started by playing in European lower leagues and have developed from there.

He said: “For instance, striker Patson Daka,  who joined Austrian side FC Liefering from Zambia’s Kafue Celtic in 2017, has been on the rise and went on to play for Austrian top-league outfit Red Bull Salzburg before making a breakthrough into the English Premier League at Leicester City.

“Development is a process. Performance analysis is critical in the modern game and I am happy that we have just joined the fray.

“Nowadays, scouts do not travel to watch players because of the availability of television and technology in sports.”

While concurring with Sapao that European clubs are focusing on players that have gone through youth development structures, Football Association of Malawi technical director Benjamin Kumwenda also blamed local agents for failing to properly market emerging talents.

“He said: “Nevertheless, the good thing is that now we have established local football academies such as Ascent that are able to get talents to Europe where they are exposed to excellent infrastructure and technical skills.

“We are happy that we are making progress in the development of players.”

Former Russia-based forward Esau Kanyenda attributed Malawi’s failure to export more players to Europe because the league is not strong enough to attract Europe agents or clubs.

He said: “The national team hasn’t been convincing either. And talking about the players that have come back it is mostly because they are not patient enough to wait for their chance .

“The other thing is that our players can’t stick to one agent and that affects their progress too.

Currently, Malawi heavily relies on players based in neighbouring countries such as Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa.

Other Malawians who played in European B and C classified European leagues are Kennedy Malunga (Belgium), Esau Kanyenda (Russia), Joseph Kamwendo (Denmark), Russell Mwafulirwa (Sweden) and John Maduka (Norway).