Malawi coach Kalisto Pasuwa has called for sound preparations ahead of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifying first-round playoff against Comoros, saying the island nation are now a force to be reckoned with.
The Zimbabwean spoke to the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) media, reacting to the CHAN draw the Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducted at its headquarters in Egypt on Thursday.
“They are now a force to reckon with in African football. They now have tactically and technically sound players hence the need for us to prepare in a way that will make us victorious in these games,” he said.
Pasuwa, who signed a two-year contract on Wednesday, said the forthcoming qualifiers pose a challenge to the Flames since the domestic league is on break.
“In terms of periodization, we just have to work with the time we have and juggle between conditioning and tactical approach for the game,” the former FCB Nyasa Big Bullets mentor said.
The Flames will take on Comoros with the first leg set to take place between 28 February and March 2 and the second leg scheduled between 7 and 9 March in Malawi. The aggregate winner between Malawi and Comoros date either South Africa or Egypt in the second round set for May 2025.
Malawi, who have never qualified for CHAN which is exclusive to national teams composed entirely of domestic league players, did not participate in the initial CHAN qualifiers but accepted a late CAF invitation to the specially arranged qualifiers.
CHAN is usually a 16-team competition but with Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda being the hosts, participating teams have risen to 17, prompting CAF to add two more, bloating it to a 19-team tournament.
CAF extended invitations to teams that withdrew from the initial qualifiers to engage in the playoffs for the extra two slots.
Malawi will participate in the playoffs alongside South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Comoros, Gabon, and the Gambia.
CHAN was initially scheduled for March 2025 but it has since been postponed to August 2025.
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