Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has given Flames coach Kalisto Pasuwa-led technical panel the leeway to include stars in his squad for this year’s Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup scheduled for June 4-15 in Mangaung, South Africa.
This is in sharp contrast to what the association had planned last year when the Zimbabwean was restricted to selecting under-23 players for the Cosafa Cup.
But the Flames pulled out of the tournament at the eleventh hour following the death of Stave Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima.
In an interview Friday, Fam first vice president Madalitso Kuyera said the technical panel was at liberty to choose players for the tournament.
“The coach [Pasuwa] is free to choose which players he wants for the tournament,” Kuyera, who is also chairperson of Fam technical sub-committee, said.
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Kuyera said the decision was made as this year’s Cosafa Cup group stage matches will be played during the Fifa International Window which runs from June 5 to 10.
“Our policy is to ensure that both the senior men and women’s teams are active during the Fifa window. So, we want the team to use the Cosafa Cup as part of preparations for the upcoming competitions,” he said.
The Flames gaffer is likely to maintain a bulk of players that played in the African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifiers against Comoros and South Africa.
Other countries in the region, including South Africa and Angola use developmental squads for the tournament.
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Additionally, other nations usually hire separate technical panels specifically for the competitions.
For instance, Wedson Nyirenda will be in charge of Zambia’s Chipolopolo squad for the tournament and not the team’s head coach Avram Grant.
But Pasuwa has been tasked to win the Cosafa Cup within two years.
Meanwhile, the Flames, who are in Group B, will begin their 2025 Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup against Lesotho at Toyota Stadium on June 5 in Mangaung, South Africa.
The Council of Southern Africa Football Association (Cosafa) released the fixtures on Thursday.
The Flames will face Namibia in their second Group B match at the Petrus Molemela Stadium on June 7 before wrapping up the group stages against defending champions Angola at the Toyota Stadium three days later.
The group stage matches will be played until June 11 with the semi-finals scheduled for June 13. Group winners will advance to the semi-finals of the competition.
Group A winners will face Group D winners in the semi-finals whereas the top team in Group B will meet the top team in Group C.
Meanwhile, Flames assistant coach Peter Mponda said the team has chances to go past the group stages.
“It is a fair draw. All teams in our group are strong and have been doing well. It gives each of the four teams a genuine chance to qualify for the semi-finals,” Mponda said on Wednesday.
This year’s tournament will attract 14 teams.
Group A comprises hosts- South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius and Zimbabwe. Group C has guest nation Morocco, Madagascar and Eswatini whereas Group D comprises Zambia, Comoros and Botswana.
