Malawi pulls out of Under-17 CAF tournament: ‘No money’

Malawi national football team has pulled out of Confederation of African Football (CAF) Under-17 tournament.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) General Secretary Suzgo Nyirenda said the decision was made in the wake of financial constraints rocking the association.

Nyirenda said the association had been forced to make such a difficult decision to give a chance to the Under-20 to participate.

He said after the government failed to guarantee the association of financial support for both the CAF Under-17 and Under-20 they decided to pull out of one competition.

“We have decided to withdraw from the Under 17 so that we should give a chance to the Under-20 to participate,” Nyirenda said.

He said it was a big blow to the development of football in the country.

“It’s sad that we had to make this decision because the government which has been our main source funding for the national teams did commit to fund both youth competitions,” he said.

He disclosed that the association was hoping for the mid term budget review to accommodate the budget for the Under-20.

This is the second consecutive time for Malawi to withdraw from Under-17 CAF due to financial problems.

Flames coach Ernest Mtawali took charge of Under-20 two years ago after FAM sacrificed Under-17 national team participation.

Ironically the government was irked by FAM for accepting K44 million from South Africa based Major Prophet Bushiri to help meet the shortfall for Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Guinea home and away.

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