Malawi Women’s National Football Team coach, Lovemore Fazili, has said drawing against Zambia, Egypt, and Nigeria gives him and his players hope and courage to perform well at their debut Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
Fazili was reacting to the 2026 WAFCON final draw, scheduled to take place in Morocco from March 17 to April 3 this year.
But coach Fazili, who attended the draw, expressed optimism despite being drawn in a “group of death.”
“I big draw. On paper, we have been drawn against big teams,” Fazili reacted. “[The draw] gives us as coaches and players hope. It’s called the group of death .…. But it gives us some courage to have hope and that we should prepare well.”
Fazili analyzes each opponent
Analysing each team, Fazili said they need to study Nigeria and Egypt—teams they have yet to face—while they already have a good understanding of Zambia.
“For Egypt, they are just invited; that gives us hope because if they failed to qualify, then it gives us courage. We need to analyse them and see what made them not among the qualified teams. We’ll also study Nigeria and analyse their weakness and strengths. We saw them last year on how they play; we will have time to go into detail.
“On Zambia, this is the only team we all know, a strong side; we know their weaknesses and strengths. Coaches and players are aware of what Zambia can do. We are not underrating them,” he added.
Fazili confirmed the Scorchers will have thorough WAFCON preparations and is coordinating with FAM boss Fleetwood Haiya.
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