Malawi National Football Team acting coach Patrick ‘General’ Mabedi will know if he still has a future with the senior side in September.
Mabedi has attracted rare reviews after guiding youthful Flames to a fourth-place finish at the just ended Cosafa Cup in South Africa.
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) President Walter Nyamilandu said they will assess the coach when his contract expires in September.
“We will conduct a 360 degrees review of his performance at the end of his contract which expires in September,” he said.
Nevertheless, Nyamilandu admitted that the Flames were a transformed side under Mabedi’s tutelage.
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“Credit goes to coach Patrick Mabedi for building a new team that has turned around the performance of the Flames. It is clear that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I would say so far so good. The coach has shown that he is on the right track,” he said.
During the tournament, the Flames played five games, scoring six goals and conceding once in open play.
They produced man-of-the-match winners in the five games including Alick Lungu, Patrick Mwaungulu and Chimwemwe Idana.
Flames forward Chawanangwa Kaonga, who won two man-of-the-match awards, was named player of the tournament as the senior side was voted the best fair play team.
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Nyamilandu said Flames’ good performance reflected in the results they achieved.
“The performance of the Flames at Cosafa has been outstanding. We achieved outstanding records where we did not lose any single match in open play. In addition, we won all man-of-the-match awards and the player of the tournament.
“We are encouraged with the excellent performance, which shows that we can build a competitive team for now and the future. The tournament has been an eye-opener and showed that Malawi has talented players,” he said.
Mabedi did not answer our questionnaire on WhatsApp.
However, former Flames and Mighty Mukuru Wanderers defender Ojukwu Malunga hailed Mabedi for transforming the team.
“He picked his team on merit and fielded players in perfect positions to suit the playing style. The team played an entertaining passing game. Mabedi just needs support and he can deliver good results,” he said.
Mabedi replaced Mario Marian Marinica, whose contract was not renewed.
