Malawi Women’s National Football Team, the Scorchers, are expected to start preparations for the 2023 Cosafa Women’s Championship on Sunday.
The tournament is scheduled to take place from October 4 to 15 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Football Association of Malawi General Secretary Alfred Gunda confirmed the development.
“We have received confirmation on the dates of the tournament. Tentatively, the team will start preparations next week,” Gunda said.
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According to a circular from Cosafa, which Times Sport has seen, the tournament will be staged in Johannesburg this year, having taken place in Port Elizabeth since 2018.
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The draw for the tournament is expected to take place this week.
Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili is expected to name a provisional squad for the tournament.
However, Fazili was not answering phone calls Tuesday.
Meanwhile, National Women’s Football Association Chairperson Adellaide Migogo has expressed hope that the team would perform well this year.
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“We do not want to give them too much pressure but we are going there to compete. We have a pool of talented players in the country,” Migogo said.
The Scorchers have been inactive for close to one year, having last played a competitive match in Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier in which they lost 4-3 on aggregate to Zambia.
The two sides drew 1-1 at Bingu National Stadium but Zambia won 3-2 in the second leg.
Malawi failed to live up to expectations during the 2022 Cosafa Cup after they exited in the group stages with four points following one win, draw and loss.
They started the campaign with a goal-less draw against Botswana before thrashing Comoros 6-0.
However, the Scorchers lost 3-1 to Tanzania.
In 2021, the Scorchers reached their first ever Cosafa Cup final.
