By Peter Fote & Williams Gondwa:
Malawi National Women’s Football Team has been boosted with the arrival of striker Sabina Thom who joined teammates in South Africa at the HollywoodBets Cosafa Women’s Championship on Wednesday night.
Thom failed to join the team in time from the Democratic Republic of Congo where she plays for TP Mazembe women’s side due to visa issues.
The forward arrived just after the Scorchers’ 1-1 draw against Botswana at Isaac Wolfson Stadium in Gqeberha.
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National Women’s Football Association President Adellaide Migogo said Thom had her passport sent to Kinshasa for printing of visa for her to travel with Mazembe to Morocco next month.
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“Sabina could not join us in time because her passport was sent to Kinshasa for visa stamping ahead of Mazembe’s trip to Morroco in November. We are therefore very happy to welcome her for our remaining two group games against Madagascar and Mauritius,” Migogo said.
Malawi coach Lovemore Fazili described Thom’s arrival as a big motivation to the team.
“After securing a point against Botswana in the opening match, we really need to score more goals against Madagascar and Mauritius because they will matter when deciding who qualifies for the quarterfinals. We just have to do our best so that whatever happens to our opponents should not matter to us,” Fazili said.
Malawi need a win against Group B leaders Madagascar Saturday to keep their semifinal qualification chances alive.
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Madagascar lead the group with three points after a 5-1 thumping of Mauritius.
The Scorchers are at the regional championship without their top stars such as Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga, who excused themselves.
Other players who did not make it to South Africa are Chimwemwe Madise, Vitumbiko Mkandawire and Chioma Okafor.
Meanwhile, football analyst Kim Kamau has said starting with a draw has disadvantaged the Scorchers.
“Madagascar are serious candidates to sail through from Group B. Malawi lacked offensive strikers during the game against Botswana. So the coming of Sabina will give us the much-needed edge.
“We failed to get more goals against Botswana because our scorer Faith Chimzimu was playing in defence. We had a striking force which was firing blanks throughout the match and the coming of Sabina should be a huge relief,” Kamau said.
The Scorchers won the championship last year, with Temwa playing an inspirational role as captain.
