Ethiopia to face Malawi in Mozambique
Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) has opted for Zimpeto National Stadium in Maputo, Mozambique, as the venue for next month’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier between Malawi and Ethiopia.
According to communication from Confederation of African Football (Caf) which Times Sport has seen, the Flames will face Ethiopia in the neighbouring country on June 20.
“To the attention of all the parties concerned by the match. Ethiopia vs Malawi, Afcon Q 2023. Played at Maputo- Estadio Nacional do Zimpeto (natural grass),’’ reads part of the communication.
The match is expected to be played at 4pm Malawi time.
However, EFF Communications Director Abraham Gebremariam said he would communicate about the venue later.
’’The match will indeed be played in Mozambique but the venue will be communicated,’’ he said.
Ethiopia have no approved stadium for Grade A matches and during match day four, Ethiopia hosted Guinea in Morocco.
The Ethiopians also hosted Egypt at Bingu National Stadium (BNS) in Lilongwe where they beat the Pharaohs 2-0.
Football Association of Malawi General Secretary Alfred Gunda said the association was waiting for official communication.
’’We are waiting for them to confirm the venue of the match. For now, we are treating it as a rumour. These might be mind games but we are planning for the match,’’ Gunda said.
The Flames defeated Ethiopia 2-1 at BNS in the qualifiers last year.
Malawi are third in Group D of the qualifiers with three points from four matches, six points behind leaders Egypt and Guinea.
The Flames have a mountain to climb in the qualifiers where they have lost three consecutive matches. They lost 1-0 to Guinea before enduring humiliating 2-0 and 4-0 defeats to Egypt in March this year.
The results led to the sacking of Flames coach Mario Marinica who was replaced by his assistant Patrick Mabedi in an interim capacity.
The Flames last played at Zimpeto in September last year in an African Nations Championship qualifier that ended goalless.
Meanwhile, Caf has appointed referee Djindo Houngndande of Benin to take charge of the match with the assistance of his countrymen Eric Ulrich and Gbbemassiandan Narcisse.
Dedjinnachi Tanisla, also from Benin, will be the fourth official whereas Awuye Suleiman of Uganda will be the match commissioner.
Moroccan Yahya Hagda and Suleiman Fonseca from Mozambique will be on duty as referee assessor and pre-match ceremony coordinator, respectively.
