Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has submitted a K760 million budget to Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) for the Flames assignments in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers and Cosafa Cup.
The Flames have started preparations for two crucial World Cup qualifiers against Sao Tome and Principle on June 6 at Bingu National Stadium before facing Equatorial Guinea away in Malabo four days later.
Thereafter, the Flames will participate in this year’s Cosafa Seniors Men’s Championship scheduled to start on June 14 in South Africa.
In an interview Wednesday, Fam General Secretary Alfred Gunda said the association already submitted the budget ahead of the matches.
“We submitted the budget in line with procedures and protocols. We are just waiting for feedback from government,” Gunda said Wednesday.
Fam’s budget for the World Cup qualifiers and Cosafa Cup is slightly above the K722 million which is in Sports Council basket for all sports associations.
This means Fam’s budget is likely to be trimmed further for the two competitions.
Sports Council Public Relations Officer Edgar Mtulumbwa was not answering his mobile phone Wednesday.
Sports Council Chief Executive Officer Henry Kamata was also not readily available for his comment as he is reportedly outside the country.
However, Sports Council met some sports associations, including Fam, recently, when it briefed them that funds would only be accessed based on priorities.
“The money is in one basket for all the associations. We will be disbursing the money depending on the activities of the associations,” Kamata told Times Sport recently.
Fam spends over K100 million on an away fixture. A return air ticket to Equatorial Guinea is at approximately K3.6 million per person.
Sports analyst George Kuadza-Masina said, the national team being the responsibility of the government, Fam should not panic on the issue of funding.
“If we want to be relevant, we need to participate in all competitions. There is no way government cannot release money for national teams. Fam just needs to follow procedures,” Masina said.
Meanwhile, the Flames are expected to relocate to Lilongwe next week ahead of the qualifiers.
Coach Patrick Mabedi is also expected to announce the final squad, which includes foreign country-based players, next week.
The Flames started the World Cup qualifiers with a 1-0 victory over Liberia away before suffering a loss to Tunisia by a similar margin at BNS.