Malawi boys and girls school teams got off to flying starts at the 2025 Caf African Schools Football Championship/Cosafa Qualifiers in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday.
The boys’ team registered a 2-1 win over Lesotho at Stellenbosch Ground with Innocent Jauma scoring inside three minutes before Intias Adam doubled the lead for Malawi five minutes later.
Thapelo Pitsi pulled one back for Lesotho.
Malawi boys’ coach Joseph Malizani was delighted with his charges’ performance.
“The focus is now on the game against Botswana on Sunday. We have three points from this match and this is important as we set our sights on the Botswana match. We just need to score more than two goals to finish on top,” Malizani said.
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The girls’ team was on the rampage, thumping Lesotho 5-0 with Tryness Chawala, Flora Banda, Sifati Chitenje, Eunice Sitchanya and Talandira Kachala scoring a goal each.
The youngsters will also face Botswana in their final group stage match.
Malawi coach Bridget Chirwa said the girls have made a strong statement.
“I am happy with the performance. The girls controlled the game very well and never put a foot wrong. I believe they will score more goals in the Botswana match,” Chirwa said.
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Group winners along with the best second-placed team will advance to the semi-finals of the competition.
Group A has South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique while Group B comprises Zambia, Eswatini and Comoros.
Malawi are top seeds in Group C where they are competing against Lesotho and Botswana.
The championship is a brainchild of Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe and was launched in 2022.
Tanzania are holders of the continental title in the boys’ category while the girls’ champions are Ghana who hosted the last edition.
