Malawi Under-17 National Football Team coach Enos Chatama is confident that his charges will start the 2026 Caf Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations/Cosafa qualifiers on a high as they take on Madagascar at Ngoni Mwos Stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe, this afternoon.
The Junior Flames will also have to do well against Zambia and South Africa to qualify for the semifinals.
Chatama said his boys have been working hard in training and are promising to start the campaign with a win.
The Ekhaya United FC gaffer said they have rectified their problems in order to reach the semifinals having performed poorly last year in Johannesburg, South Africa, where they failed to register a single win.
“All that is needed is to win the opening match. This gives you the confidence that you can progress. Of course we did not perform well last year but we are optimistic about starting with a win this time. The boys are in high spirits and I have encouraged them to play as a team so that we can achieve our goals,” he said.
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After playing Madagascar today, the Junior Flames will go on to face Zambia on Sunday afternoon at Hearts Stadium before winding up their Group B matches against South Africa on Tuesday at Ngoni Mwos.
During the last edition of the regional competition where they were in Group A, Malawi lost 3-1 to Lesotho, before 1-1 stalemates against Mozambique and Angola.
Zambia won the 2024 title after beating Angola 2-1.
