Malawi under-23 off to Belgium, Egypt today
By Ronald Mpaso:
Malawi’s under-23 national football team has taken its preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games qualifiers to Belgium and Egypt where it will play several practice and friendly matches.
The two destinations are ideal as they boast some of the best football talents in the world.
Belgium is currently the world’s top footballing nation according to Fifa rankings whereas Egypt boasts the most Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) titles at seven.
The Belgium trip was initiated by Flames Coach Ronny van Geneugden when he visited his country while on leave in December.
As of Friday, officials were busy securing visas for the trip from the Norwegian and Egyptian embassies in Lilongwe.
Flames Team Manager James Sangala said they were on course to complete all processes ahead of today’s departure.
“We are almost done with all the processes. The team will first travel to Belgium before making a stopover in Egypt for a friendly on the way back. We are yet to get full details of the teams we will play but what is most important is that the trip is on,” Sangala said.
He said Malawian players will learn a lot from the trip considering the status of Belgium and Egypt in world football.
“We need to learn from the best to beat the best. The trip will motivate our players besides helping them to acquire skills that will help them to improve their game. This is the right time to embark on this trip as we look forward to meeting Zambia,” Sangala said.
As we went to bed Friday, the final list of players making the trip was yet to be released.
Coincidentally, Malawi’s opponents, Zambia, have also booked Egypt for a friendly.
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