Malawi Women’s National Football Team Coach Lovemore Fazili can afford a smile after Football Association of Malawi (Fam) offered him a new two-year contract.
Fazili’s initial contract expired on December 31 last year, just two months after he led the Scorchers to their first ever Cosafa Women’s Championship in South Africa.
However, the Scorchers failed to defend the championship as they crashed out of the competition following a 2-0 loss to Zambia last month.
Fam General Secretary Alfred Gunda was yet to respond to our questionnaire as we went to press Tuesday.
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But a well-placed source at Fam confided in us that discussions with Fazili had reached an advanced stage.
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“The coach has already been offered a contract but what is remaining is for him to agree on the terms. We hope, very soon, the deal will be finalised. Fazili has done well while in charge of the team; so, he deserves to continue as Scorchers’ coach,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
The development follows a recommendation from the Fam technical sub-committee.
Fam reshuffled the Scorchers’ technical panel, a development that saw Maggie Chombo being appointed assistant coach to Fazili whereas Abasi Makawa was redeployed to the post of technical adviser.
When contacted Tuesday, Fazili refused to comment on the matter.
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“I am not ready to speak on the issue,” Fazili said. Despite winning the Cosafa Women’s Championship in 2023, Fazili has been without a contract for one year.
On several occasions, he turned down offers from some TNM Super League clubs.
But Fam delayed finalising processes of employing permanent coaches for the Scorchers and under-17 and 20 sides as it was still waiting for a greenlight from the government.
Government is responsible for salaries for national football team coaches, including the Scorchers and junior sides.
However, Fam was solely responsible for the salary of immediate-past Flames coach Patrick Mabedi after the Ministry of Youth and Sports did not approve his perks.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Youth and Sports Macmillan Mwale said they were yet to get official communication from Fam on the recruitment of permanent coaches for both Flames and Scorchers.
“So far, [there is] nothing from Fam on the matter,” Mwale said.
