The Flames qualification for the 2021 AFCON under local coach Meck Mwase continues the legacy of local coaches who are the only ones to have guided the team to the continental finals.

Malawi beat Uganda to qualify for their third AFCON with the last two coming in 2010 and 1984.

Ironically the two previous AFCON qualifications were achieved under local coaches; Henry Moyo in 1984 and Kinnah Phiri in 2010.

Despite employing a number of expatriate coaches in the past, none of them has taken the Flames to the final of any major event.

Mwase has qualified the Flames without conceding at home and with an impressive 10 points.

“I am happy to have achieved this feat I owe it to the players, FAM and all other stakeholders who gave us support. This is not about me but the boys, they worked hard and deserved it.

“Like I always say everything is possible in football and its unbelievable that a local coach like me has led the team to AFCON. It just shows we have potential,” said Mwase.

FAM President Walter Nyamilandu said Mwase, whose contract expires this month, has shown that local coaches have the expertise to lead the Flames.

“We have in the past gone for foreign coaches but we did not get the desired results. But Mwase, just like Kinnah and Moyo before him, has delivered the goods. Maybe its high time we invested in local coaches because they are the real deal.

“Now that we have qualified, we can’t break what is not broken and I will recommend for Mwase’s contract renewal,” said Nyamilandu.

Source: FAM Newsletter – April 2021