Scorchers to start Cosafa campaign with Botswana
M
alawi National Women’s Football Team will start their campaign at Cosafa Championship against Botswana in Group C on September 2 in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.
The statement from Cosafa reads: “The winner of Group B will take on the top team in Group C in the first semi-final on September 9, while the winner of Group A meets the best-placed runner-up.”
The Scorchers’ second match will be against Comoros, three days before wrapping up their group against guests and defending champions Tanzania’s Twigas on September 7, according to a statement from Cosafa.
Malawi’s last match will be a repeat of last edition’s final which saw Twigas grab the championship after a narrow 1-0 victory.
Mauritius and Mozambique will kick off the tournament on August 31 before African champions South Africa and Angola clash later.
The pool stages will be played in a round-robin format with the top team in each group advancing to the semi-finals along with the side which is the best-placed runner-up, according to the rules and regulations of the competition.
Last year, Malawi made it to the final after finishing as group runners-up while South Africa won the group.
Malawi lost 2-1 to South Africa in the opening group game, but went on to beat Mozambique 3-2 and Angola 2-0.
Malawi then beat South Africa 2-1 in the semi-final to book a date against Tanzania who won the championship via a 1-0 scoreline.
However, this time the team has been hit by uncertainty after designated coach Thom Mkorongo turned down the offer, citing a busy schedule at his work place Ascent Soccer.
Meanwhile, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) competitions and communication director Gomezgani Zakazaka said it will announce Mkorongo’s replacement.
He said: “The technical and youth subcommittee is in the process of finding a replacement for Mkorongo to lead the team at the Cosafa Championship.”
In his absence, assistant coaches Andrew Chikhosi and Abbas Makawa will be in charge of the training.
Mkorongo was expected to replace McNebert Kazuwa, who led the team to the 2021 Cosafa Women’s Championship final.
