The Beach Soccer National Team has been drawn against Burundi in the 2024 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers scheduled for next month.
The draw for the qualifiers was conducted Thursday in Cairo, Egypt, and will see first leg matches being played between July 19 and 21 whereas second leg fixtures are set for July 26 to 28.
Malawi will start the qualifiers away before hosting Burundi.
Malawi coach Willy Kumilambe described the draw as tough.
“We do not know much about Burundi but, as usual, we expect a tough match. We need to prepare well for such matches if we are to make it to the finals,” Kumilambe said.
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The overall winner between Malawi and Burundi will qualify for the Afcon finals to be staged in Egypt later this year.
Egypt are already in the finals as hosts of the sixth edition of the competition and would be joined by seven other teams.
The North Africans also hosted the tournament in 2018.
The tournament is also used as a qualifier for the 2025 Beach Soccer World Cup finals scheduled for Seychelles.
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Malawi will be hoping for back-to-back qualification to the continental showpiece, having made it to the 2022 edition.
The team finished sixth out of seven teams after losing 4-2 to Mozambique, 7-3 to Morocco and 4-1 to Uganda on post-match penalties after a 6-6 stalemate in regulation time in Vilankulo, Mozambique.
Beach Soccer Association president Gift Chimbalanga echoed Kumilambe’s sentiments.
“It is a very tough draw for us. We need to start our preparations right away to be ready. If we take our opponents lightly, we will be shocked. Burundi has improved a lot in recent years, so we need to play matches against teams that can give us an idea about what to expect from them,” Chimbalanga said.
Senegal won the last edition of the competition after beating Egypt 6-5 on post-match penalties following a 2-2 stalemate in regulation time.
Malawi also made a return to the Cosafa Beach Soccer Championship this year in Durban, South Africa, after a nine-year absence and finished third.
