The Malawi National Football Team will not take part in this year’s regional tournament, the Cosafa Cup as the nation keeps on mourning the late Dr Saulos Chilima and eight others who died in a plane crash.
The Football Association of Malawi pulled out of the tournament in the 11th hour before the draw was conducted in South Africa by the Council.
In a press release today, FAM said the decision was made following the new dates that were set by the Council after announcing postponement two weeks ago saying it can be “insensitive” to proceed with the initial arrangements. The tournament will commence on June 26 and the final will be played on July 7.
“Considering the sorrowful atmosphere as the result of the tragic passing of the State Vice President, Right Honourable Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, and eight others and the subsequent 21-day mourning period declared by the government, FAM highly considered it insensitive to proceed with our preparations and subsequent participation in the championship.
“For this reason, the Malawi National Team will not be participating in the COSAFA tournament this year as a way of showing respect to the souls of the people who lost their lives in the tragedy,” reads the press release in part.
FAM appointed FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Head Coach, Kalisto Pasuwa to take charge of the team at the tournament and Malawi would be represented by the U-23 team after a busy schedule for the senior team this year.
The squad for the U-23 has been in camp at Chiwembe, Blantyre last week and the Association said they remain committed to the technical development and growth of the national team.
“To ensure continued preparation and competitive readiness, we will be arranging a series of international friendly matches in due course. We believe that stakeholders and the general public will find merit in our bold decision as we remain steadfast in unity during this difficult period,” adds the release.
Cosafa conducts the draw for the 23rd edition
Malawi has joined Madagascar and Mauritius who have opted not to compete in 2024 and the draw on Friday had 11 teams.
The draw for the 12 teams pitted the neighbours, South Africa and Botswana together for the ninth COSAFA Cup tournament in a row, with Botswana yet to win outright in any of their 12 previous meetings.
Mozambique and Eswatini make up the other sides in what is sure to be a hotly contested Group A.
Record seven-time winners Zambia will be looking to become the first team to win three COSAFA Cup titles in a row and also face a fascinating set of fixtures in Group B, which puts them against old foes Zimbabwe and Comoros. The fourth team in that pool will be confirmed in due course.
Last year’s runners-up Lesotho are in Group C along with three-time winners Angola, 2015 champions Namibia and Seychelles.
The pool games will be played from June 26-July 3, with the semifinals on July 5 and the final and third-place play-off to be staged two days later.
Zambia went back-to-back in 2023 and now sit along at the top of the list of most titles with seven. That is one more than Zimbabwe, with South Africa (five), Angola (three) and Namibia (one) the only other teams to claim regional glory.
Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana and Lesotho have all been finalists twice, but ended up on the losing side on both occasions. Two-time guest nation Senegal are the only other nationals to reach the decider but lost to South Africa in 2021.
