Local football analysts have called for a stakeholders’ meeting to find solutions to Malawi National Football Team’s poor showing.
The Flames remain bottom in Group L of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifies without a point ahead of today’s clash against Senegal at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
Flames’ former coach Kinnah Phiri said finger pointing would not help the country in improving the team’s performance, hence the need for a stakeholders’ meeting to brainstorm on the issue and develop a strategic plan.
“We do not fix something which is not broken. We have a problem to solve here; otherwise, pointing fingers at Football Association of Malawi (Fam), the coach, players or government will not yield anything.
“We all need to take full responsibility and find a lasting solution to the problem. Let government, through the Ministry of Youth and Sports, sponsors, Fam, Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) and legends go for a roundtable,” Kinnah, who led the Flames to their second Afcon qualification in 2010, said.
Flames’ former forward Esau Kanyenda shared the sentiments, saying the meeting was important.
He, however, said all stakeholders had to be incorporated.
“Mind you, during our time, there was no shortcut; players could move from point A to Z, meaning that players could be called to the national team on merit. You saw some of us being spotted whilst playing for smaller teams and went on to play professional football abroad.
“If you analyse critically, you could see that some of the players are being incorporated into the national team just because of the performance showcased in just a single match. Things do not work that way,” Kanyenda said.
Another Flames’ former player Sherry Msuku agreed with the suggestions, saying the team lacks continuity, hence relying on aging players.
“Half of the players are aging and cannot play for 90 minutes. I am afraid that, by 2027, we will lose them all at once just like we lost the 2010 team that qualified for the Afcon finals in Angola,” Msuku said.
Fam General Secretary Alfred Gunda declined to comment on the matter, saying they were yet to discuss it.
“Kindly allow me not to comment for now. I hope you will understand,” Gunda said.
The Flames have lost three successive games in Group L after going down to Burundi 3-2, Burkina Faso 3-1 and Senegal 4-0.
0 Comments