U-17 dealt blow
The Malawi Under-17 National Football Team has suffered a setback as 14 of the 32 players that went for age verification tests have failed to make the grade ahead of the 2022 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Cosafa zone qualifiers.
The tournament will be part of the Africa Union Sports Council (Ausc) Region 5 Games scheduled for December 2 to 11 in Lilongwe,
Both Malawi National Council of Sports spokesperson Edgar Ntulumbwa and Malawi Under-17 coach DeKlerk Msakakuona confirmed the development in separate interviews yesterday.
Said Ntulumbwa: “Out of the 32 that went for the tests, 18 have been declared eligible and those are the ones that will start training today [yesterday] in preparation forthe games.
He also ruled out the possibility of beefing up the squad with new players, saying from the remaining 18, all the areas are covered.
“Unless there are any developments, but that is how we plan to proceed,” said Ntulumbwa.
On his part, Msakakuona played down the exclusion of the 14 players, saying he has confidence in those that have made the grade.
He said: “At this point, I cannot say whether we will make additions or subtractions to the squad until we start training and assess those that are available.
“It is important to have faith in those that are there.”
On whether the development has the potential to affect the team’s capabilities, the coach said: “That is possible, but let’s do with what we have.”
The two finalists will qualify for the Under-17 Afcon and Malawi have been drawn in Group A alongside Botswana and Nasmibia.
Last week, Football Association of Malawi competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka said Confederation of African Football conduct mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) age verification tests for all participating teams before the continental tournament.
“So, as a precautionary measure, we decided to do our own MRI scan for all the players so that only those that pass should be in the final squad,” he was quoted as having said.
Meanwhile, Ntulumbwa said as of yesterday, Team Malawi had started preparations for the tournament except for paralympics, whose athletes were expected to arrive in Lilongwe last evening.
He also said 90 percent of the Team Malawi athletes are products of the Malawi Youth Games that were held in March and October this year.
“This, therefore, is testimony that the Games are bearing fruits,” said Ntulumbwa.
