President Dr Lazarus Chakwera has hailed the Malawi Women’s National Football team the Scorchers for the unity and consistency which led to their triumph in the COSAFA Women’s Championship.
Dr Chakwera was speaking at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe during a luncheon he hosted in honour of the team.
Dr Chakwera has since ordered the Ministry of Lands to allocate plots of 30 metres by 25 metres to all players and the technical panel for winning the trophy for the nation.
“It didn’t happen by fluke or sheer luck, for you to beat all teams up to the final and clinch the trophy. We congratulate you for making Malawi proud,” said President Chakwera.
Speaking earlier, President of the Football Association of Malawi, Walter Nyamilandu, said he was pleased because, under Dr Chakwera’s reign, football has registered several milestones but asked for more investment in Women’s Football.
“What the Scorchers has done is a good example of setting goals and staying focused to achieve them, it pays as evident of the team’s success, ” said Nyamilandu.
However, Nyamilandu lamented inadequate funding for women’s football not only here in Malawi but also in many parts of Africa and appealed to corporate entities to invest more in the game.
Scorchers Captain, Temwa Chawinga, asked govt to recruit the girls in the Malawi Defence Force and the Malawi Police Service, saying football is a short-term career and most of her peers have no jobs.
After several attempts, Malawi’s Scorchers beat Zambia 2 – 1 to win their first-ever COSAFA Women’s Championship and to help Malawi end a 35-year drought without any major trophy.
The last time Malawi won any regional sports competition was back in 1988 when the men’s football team won the East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup.
Reported by Isaac Jali.
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