I will never refuse substitution, says Malawi skipper Kamwendo

Malawi national team Captain Joseph Kamwendo has come out into open to respond to the accusations that he refused to be substituted during a 2017 African Cup of Nations Qualifying match against Zimbabwe on Saturday in which Malawi lost 2-1.

It was reported that the TP Mazembe midfielder defied Flames Coach Young Chimodzi’s decison to to replace him with Gerald Phiri Jnr as the Flames were trailing to Zimbabwe.

The gifted left footed midfielder has since said the issue is coming from people who don’t wish him well.

While confessing that his performance wasn’t impressive against Zimbabwe, Kamwendo said he was ready to go out as he took off the captains armband handing it over to veteran striker Esau Kanyenda who plays for Polokwane City in South Africa knowing he was about to leave the pitch.

“I don’t know the origins of this talk, but if you followed the events, you might have realized that I took off the armband and gave it to Essau [Kanyenda] which was proof that I was ready to go out. Maybe the coaches had a change of mind as I said it was not my day, but I will never refuse to be substituted” Kamwendo is quoted in the local press as saying.

“That will never happen. As a professional, there is no way I can do that” added Kamwendo.

He went on to apologize to the Malawi nation for the loss and promised to bounce back with his usual top form in the next coming games.

“I had a very bad day, my performance was poor but I will bounce back”.

“I know there are some fans who don’t want me, but you cannot be a bad player just because of one game. It was one of those days when we couldn’t come to the party but I will bounce back. I just want to apologize to the fans for the agony they went through following the loss. We are very sorry, that was unacceptable,” explained Kamwendo.

Meanwhile, the former Orlando Pirates star says chances are still there for the Flames to earn Afcon qualification claiming there is still a long way to go.