Malawi National Football Team, the Schorchers, will face Congo Brazzaville in the first round of the 2026 Morocco Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
This follows a draw held on Thursday in Cairo, Egypt where Malawi Under-20 were drawn against Central Africa Republic whose senior team are ranked 144 in the world.
Malawi, ranked 156 in the world, face their opponents who once qualified for the 2008 Wafcon finals.
Reacting to the draw, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) competition and communication director Gomezgani Zakazaka said Malawi have good players who can reach the second round.
He said: “The Scorchers last played in the 2022 qualifiers and they missed the last edition. They are now back in the fold. Being drawn against Congo, we expect it to be a good match for us.
“Looking at how our players are performing at club level individually, I believe that we should be able to build a strong team to go past the first round.”
Commenting on the Under-20, Zakazaka said they are ready to stand the heat.
“Having played for the qualifiers for the past two editions in 2019 and 2022, we are experienced enough to build a strong team. We had Under-17 that participated in two Cosafa tournaments this year as well as in 2022. We have built a number of youngsters that can do well,” he said.
The winner between Malawi and Congo Brazzaville during the first round home and away matches to be played between February 16 and 26 2025, will face Angola or Zimbabwe in the two-legged second round scheduled for October 20 and 28.
