Football Association of Malawi (Fam) Tuesday fired Malawi National Football Team Coach Patrick Mabedi following the team’s poor showing in all competitions.
The decision was made during Fam Emergency Committee meeting held on October 28, 2024.
Fam announced in a statement that the decision was made after the Flames under the tutelage of Mabedi failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals.
“The decision is based on the recommendation from the Technical Committee following the dismal performance of the Flames and subsequent failure to qualify for the for the TotalEnergies Afcon finals,” the statement reads.
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The association announced that it will appoint an interim technical panel to lead the team for the dead-rubber matches against Burundi and Burkina Faso next month.
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“Fam would like to assure all stakeholders that it will ensure seamless continuity in the Flames undertakings in the various competitions. Fam will be putting together a temporary technical panel that will lead the team into the next assignments until a substantive replacement is identified,” the statement reads.
Mabedi was hired as Flames coach on a two-year contract after an impressive performance during the 2023 Cosafa Championship in which the team reached the semi-finals for the first time in 20 years.
Initially, he replaced Marian Mario Marinica on a temporary basis after Fam decided against renewing the contract for the Romanian due to poor results.
Mabedi was not readily available for comment Tuesday.
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National Football Coaches Association General Secretary Davie Mpima was reluctant to comment on the issue.
Sports analyst Parry Chinyama said the decision to fire Mabedi was long overdue.
“I saw it coming. There is nothing new Mabedi could have done in the remaining two matches. It is a good decision from Fam,” Chinyama said.
Mabedi was getting K157.4 million annual salary. On top of that, he was also pocketing K1.5 million as a motor vehicle allowance per month including business class return air tickets.
The recent back-to-back losses to Senegal meant the Flames lost eight out of nine matches in all competitions.
Malawi lost 4-0 to Senegal in Dakar before a 1-0 loss at Bingu National Stadium.
The defeats to Senegal came on the back of the 3-2 loss to Burundi at BNS and 3-1 to Burkina Faso in Bamako, Mali in the Afcon qualifiers.
The Flames anchor Group L of Afcon qualifiers without a point from four matches.
Malawi also lost 1-0 to Tunisia before 4-0 and 2-1 losses to Kenya and Zambia during the Four Nations Tournament in March.
Then, what followed was a 3-1 victory over minnows Sao Tome and Principe and 1-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
