The Malawi Under-23 National Football Team faces a tricky path to qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals after it was drawn against Eswatini in the first round.
The draw for the qualifiers was conducted at Confederation of African Football (Caf) headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Tuesday.
According to Caf, the first legs matches will be played on November 9, 2026, with the junior Flames starting the qualifiers at home before travelling to Eswatini for the second leg on November 17.
The winner between Malawi and Eswatini will meet Algeria in the second round of the qualifiers. Should Malawi progress to the final round of the qualifiers, they will face the winner involving Zimbabwe/Mauritania and Mali.
Seven teams will qualify for the 2027 U-23 Afcon finals to be staged in Egypt, who have already qualified for the event as hosts.
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The competition will be used as qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in the United States of America.
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) Operations Director Gomezgani Zakazaka the association was excited to take part in the qualifiers for the first time since 2011.
“This is an important project for us in the rebuilding process of the team. We have had a lot of young players exposed at Under-17 and U-20 recently,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Malawi National Beach Soccer Team has been drawn against fellow Cosafa nation Seychelles in the second round of the 2026 Beach Soccer Afcon qualifiers.
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Malawi will begin their campaign away in Seychelles between October 9, 10 and 12 before the return leg in Salima District between October 15, 16 and 17.
The winner between Seychelles and Malawi will automatically qualify for Afcon finals in Senegal. Malawi was exempted from the first round having finished seventh during the Afcon finals in 2024.
Beach Soccer coach Willy Kumilambe described the draw as fair.
“It is a fair draw but we just need to prepare well for the competition,” he said.
Malawi will be looking for the third consecutive appearance at the Beach Soccer Afcon having qualified for the previous two editions.
