Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has expressed the desire to see the Malawi National Women’s football team making it to the 2027 Fifa World Cup.
The Scorchers made history by qualifying for next year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) finals after beating Angola 2-0 at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Tuesday.
Fam president Fleetwood Haiya said the qualification is a result of the significant investment in the team.
He said for the first time in the country’s history, the team has played more international friendlies within the past twelve months than in the previous ten years combined.
- Advertisement -
“Our goal has been clear to provide equal opportunities for all our national teams in terms of friendlies, bonuses, and allowances. Malawi proudly remains among the few nations in the world that pay women’s football bonuses at the same rate as the men’s senior national team, a commitment that reflects our deep belief in equality, fairness, and merit.
- Advertisement -
“The Scorchers’ main target was qualification for the 2026 Wafcon finals and, by the grace of God, we have achieved it for the first time. History has been written. As we approach the 2026 Wafcon, our ambition extends further to fight for qualification to the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup,” Haiya said.
He said for the Flames, the focus and target remain 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.
“Our beach soccer team has already made us proud by qualifying and finishing seventh at the Egypt 2024 edition, their best-ever performance. Our broader aim is to build sustainable teams capable of consistently qualifying for every major continental competition.
“All these milestones are a reflection of our 10-year Transformative Strategy, and it is clear that we are on the right trajectory. Beyond the senior teams, we are intensifying our efforts at the grassroots level, implementing structured development programs for Under-15, U-18, and U-20 boys and girls, as these represent the true foundation and future of Malawian football,” Haiya said.
- Advertisement -
The Fam boss said in the immediate term, they are finalizing arrangements for a minimum of two more international friendly matches each for the Scorchers as part of their preparations for Wafcon finals.
“We are also doing the same for the beach soccer team and the Flames. In addition, our under-20 girls team is in the knockout phase of World Cup qualifiers after winning against Central African Republic and South Sudan.
“In February next year we are playing Guinea Bissau and, if we do well, we will play the last match against winners between Senegal and Nigeria,” he said.
