Fill Bingu stadium for the Scorchers: Malawi host Zimbabwe in Olympic first leg

Malawi’s Scorchers return to Lilongwe on Friday as heroes, and fans have the chance to say thank you in person.

The national women’s team host Zimbabwe’s Mighty Warriors on 9 October in the first leg of their Olympic qualifier at Bingu National Stadium.

After their run to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final, supporters now have the chance to turn out in large numbers to honour the team that put Malawian women’s football on the continental map.

The Scorchers beat Nigeria, then Ghana 2-1 in the quarter-finals and Algeria 3-1 in the semi-finals, before losing 3-0 to Cameroon in the final.

With the tie decided over two legs, a strong result at home would give Malawi a platform for the return in Harare five days later.

Zimbabwe will not be pushovers. At the recent COSAFA tournament they lost 3-1 to Zambia and went out to South Africa on penalties after a 1-1 draw. They also beat Botswana and Eswatini and drew 0-0 with Zambia, so the Mighty Warriors are both resilient and competitive.

Head coach Lovemore Fazili has named a squad built largely around the group that went to WAFCON, with a few additions.

He is also looking further ahead, with preparations under way for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.