BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Industrial Relations Court (IRC) in Blantyre has ruled that the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) unfairly terminated the contract of former Flames coach Patrick Mabedi and must compensate him.
Mabedi, who was earning MK13 million per month, had taken the matter to court seeking payment for the remaining one year of his contract after he was dismissed from his position.
The coach signed a two-year contract with FAM in October 2023. Under the agreement, he was given several performance targets, including helping Malawi qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), reaching the semi-finals of the COSAFA Cup, and winning at least six matches in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
However, Malawi did not participate in the COSAFA Cup that year because the country was observing a period of national mourning following the death of former Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others in a plane crash.
In his ruling delivered on March 9, 2026, IRC Vice Chairperson Wyson Chandimba Nkhata stated that the evidence presented before the court did not clearly demonstrate that Malawi had completely lost its chances of qualifying for AFCON by October 2024, when Mabedi was dismissed.
Regarding the COSAFA Cup, the court also ruled that the tournament could not be used as a basis for terminating Mabedi’s contract.
This was because FAM had already appointed Kallisto Pasuwa to lead the Under-23 national team to the tournament, even before the plane crash occurred.
On the matter of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the court noted that at the time Mabedi was dismissed, Malawi had played only four matches, winning two and losing two, with six matches still remaining in the qualifying campaign.
The court therefore found that FAM had not sufficiently justified the dismissal, and ordered that Mabedi be compensated accordingly.
FAM is yet to respond to the court ruling.