Malawi national football team are expected to know their opponents on for this year’s Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championship slated for Lusaka, Zambia from December 4 to 14.
The draw for the regional youth championship will take place at Southern Sun Hotel from 3PM on Friday in Lusaka.
A total of 12 teams are expected to take part in the competition.
Meanwhile, the Junior Flames are expected to regroup today at Mpira Village under the tutelage of Peter Mponda and Audlow Makonyola.
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) released a provisional squad which comprises TNM Super League players.
Civil Sporting Club goalkeeper, Hastings Banda, Silver Strikers defender Hadji Wali, Nyasa Big Bullets midfielder Azizi Mwakifuna, Be Forward Wanderers midfielder Francisco Madinga Jnr and Blue Eagles striker Patrick Ludi have been included in the squad.
Kingsley Kuwali of Blue Eagles, Christopher Mtambo of Chitipa United and Walusungu Mdoka from Moyale Barracks have also made it into the team.
In an interview Tuesday, Mponda’s assistant, Makonyola said they would be ready to face any team during the competition.
“We believe we have identified a good crop of players which can do the nation proud during the tournament in Zambia. All the teams will also be well prepared for the tournament but we just need good character to perform well,” he said.
Mponda and his backroom staff have a tough task to change the team’s fortune in the competition having failed to go past the group stages of the competition for three consecutive years.
One of the local coaches, Thom Mkolongo said the Junior Flames have potential to reach the semifinals.
“We always have good players but our problem has been lack of enough preparations,” he said.
During the 2018 edition, the Junior Flames lost 2-0 to hosts Zambia before drawing one-all with Mozambique to exit the tournament.
