Flames foreign-based players start jetting in
By Williams Gondwa
Five foreign-based Malawi National Football Team players have joined the senior team’s camp ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations finals slated for Yaoundé, Cameroon next month.
South Africa based trio of striker Khuda Muyaba, midfielder Mike Mkwate and defender Chembezi Denis joined Flames camp yesterday.
Moldova-based Charles Petro of Sheriff Tiraspol and Georgia’s Dila Gori attacker Francisco Madinga arrived over the weekend.
Flames Coach Meck Mwase, who is working under Football Association of Malawi (Fam) Technical Director Mario Marian Marinica has been beefing up the squad with some local players who were not initially included.
The Romanian has in recent days called Civil Service United defender Lawrence Chaziya, attacker Robin Ngalande, Silver Strikers duo Zebron Kalima and Blessings Tembo.
Reports also suggest that Marinica has called into camp Silver’s striker Stain Davie and Nyasa Big Bullets defender Sankhani Mkandawire.
The Flames are expected to leave the country on Thursday for Saudi Arabia where they will camp to fine tune before Afcon finals.
Malawi were drawn in Group B alongside Senegal, Zimbabwe and Guinea.
The Flames will kick-start their campaign on January 10 when they will face Guinea before taking on Zimbabwe on January 14.
Malawi will conclude their group stages campaign with a fixture against Senegal on January 18.
This is the third time for the Flames to appear at Afcon finals, having done so in 1984 in Ivory Coast under the late Henry Moyo and in 2010 in Angola under Kinnah Phiri.
