Coach of the Malawi National Women’s Team, Fazili, has called four players of the under-20 national women’s team in his 24-member squad for the 2025 Hollywoodbets COSAFA Women’s Championship.
According to the Football Association of Malawi (FAM), the four are Leticia Chinyamula, Olivia Phikani, Sarah Mlimbika and Maureen Kenneth.
This comes after the Young Scorchers thumped Guinea-Bissau 5-1 in the 2026 Under-20 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on 14 February, 2026 at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
In that game, they came from 1-0 down in the second minute. Lamarana Bali for the visitors was the one who scored.
Malawi’s Alinafe Milanzi equalised four minutes later, then Victoria Mkwala scored the second in the 53rd minute, followed by Fatima Lali in the 70th minute, and Mayamiko Mkandawire before Lali completed a brace on 90+3.
This has made the Young Scorchers qualify to the 4th round of the qualifiers after a 6-2 victory on aggregate. They will face Nigeria in that round between 1-3 May in the first leg and 8-10 May in the second leg. Nigeria defeated Senegal 3-1 on aggregate.
However, Fazili did not include the Chawinga Sisters, Temwa and Tabitha, but included those that play African-based teams.
Egypt-based midfielder, Vanessa Chikupila, Chimwemwe Madise of TP Mazembe women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tendai Sani of ZISD and Chisomo Banda of Konkola Blades Queens in Zambia.
In a statement, FAM said the tournament is crucial since Scorchers qualified for the 2026 Women Africa Cup of Nations.
“The regional tournament will also serve as a key preparatory platform for the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, set to be staged in Morocco from 17 March to 3 April 2026,” reads part of the statement.
The Scorchers held their final training session on Sunday and will depart to South Africa for the tournament on Monday.
The tournament shall be held between 18 February – 1 March 2026 in Polokwane, South Africa.
Malawi is in Group A together with hosts, South Africa, Lesotho and Angola. In Group B, there is Zambia, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe whike in Group C there is Mozambique, Namibia and Madagascar.
Zambia are the defending champions of this tournament, while Malawi won it in 2023.
