BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has announced that the Malawi National Football Team will take part in an exciting four nation international tournament set to take place in Botswana from March 23 to March 31, 2026.
The tournament will be hosted at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown, Botswana, bringing together four Southern African rivals Botswana, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
According to the format released, the competition will kick off with semi final matches where winners will advance to the final, while the losing sides will battle it out in a third place playoff. The structure guarantees every team two competitive matches within the FIFA international window.
According to FAM the tournament is part of strategic preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, as the Flames aim to sharpen their edge ahead of the continental campaign.
The four nation event offers Malawi a rare opportunity to test its strength against familiar regional opponents, each carrying its own football pedigree and competitive hunger.
Football analyst Williams Chande has described the tournament as highly significant, especially because it falls within the official FIFA calendar window meaning teams can field their strongest available squads.
Chande emphasized that this window provides Malawi a golden chance to improve its global standing, noting that the Flames must aim to move from a three digit FIFA ranking into the more competitive two digit bracket.
He added that positive results in Botswana could inject new confidence into the squad while boosting the country’s profile on the international stage.
Beyond rankings, the tournament will serve as a crucial assessment platform for head coach Kalisto Pasuwa, who continues shaping his squad ahead of the AFCON qualifiers.
Pasuwa is expected to use the matches to evaluate both established players and emerging talents, identifying those capable of carrying the nation’s ambitions in the demanding qualification campaign.
