South African football expert Sudesh Singh has said Malawi Women’s National Football Team is capable of competing strongly at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco later this month.
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) as brought in Singh and fellow countryman Tyrese Steyn to help strengthen Malawi’s technical panel ahead of their maiden Wafcon finals appearance.
Singh is the Scorchers’ technical advisor while Tyrese Steyn has been hired as a performance analyst.
Malawi are currently in camp at Chiwembe Technical Centre in Blantyre as they prepare for the continental showpiece which kicks off on July 25.
- Advertisement -
According to Fam’s website, Singh brings vast experience to the team having served invarious technical and advisory roles for over 30 years.
- Advertisement -
The website states that he has previously served as South African Football Coaches Association
Sports Director, Technical Consultant at Masitaoka FC of Botswana and television channel SuperSport’s Soccer Africa show football strategist.
Speaking to Fam media after joining the team, Singh said he was been impressed with the quality of players in camp and believes the Scorchers have the potential to compete strongly in Morocco.
“I think you have a very talented group of ladies, and I believe the Scorchers can be a dark horse in this tournament.
- Advertisement -
Yes, it is a difficult group with defending champions Nigeria, but with the talent that I have seen in the few days I have been here, I believe this team can cause an upset in Morocco,” he told Fam’s website.
The South African said he has already talked to coach Lovemore Fazili and the rest of the technical panel about areas that need beefing up ahead of the continental tournament.
“I had meetings with the coaching staff and the head coach, Lovemore Fazili, and I must say it was a warm welcome. People are very open-minded and willing to embrace new ideas that can strengthen the team.
“The natural and exceptional talent is there, especially offensively.
Over the next week or two, we will work together to see how we can organise the defence into a more compact unit because we know the kind of opposition we are going to face in Morocco,” Fam.mw quoted him as saying.
Fam President Fleetwood Haiya said the two experts were brought in on recommendation from the association’s technical committee to strengthen the team’s preparations.
“We had a report from the Technical Committee which proposed that we need to beef up the technical panel.
We believe in Lovemore Fazili and I have said it many times that Fazili is the best coach for our women’s team and we are going to maintain him. Today, we are operationalizing the decision made by the Executive Committee to strengthen the team.
“We are very thankful that we have Sudesh, who has vast experience, especially at this stage when we are going to Wafcon for the first time. We expect the additional expertise to help the Scorchers compete at the highest level. Sudesh is here to help us do well.
As we go to compete at Wafcon, it is our expectation that we reach the semifinals so that we can qualify for the World Cup,” Haiya told Fam’s website.
Fazili welcomed the experts, saying they will help strengthen the team.
“This is a very good development, and definitely it is going to help us. We are going to benefit a lot from someone who has experience, and we will use that experience to boost the team and strengthen the technical panel. We are happy and we welcome him,” he explained to the online publication.
