As Malawi prepares for Sunday’s WAFCON final against Cameroon in Morocco, perhaps the biggest question is no longer whether the Scorchers can compete, but why some people still refuse to give them a genuine chance of winning the continental crown.
The answer becomes clearer when the numbers are placed on the table. The Scorchers have not reached this stage through luck, their campaign has been built on victories against established African opposition, tactical discipline and years of development.
According to CAF’s official tournament records, Malawi opened their campaign with a remarkable 3-2 victory over Nigeria, a country that has won the WAFCON title ten times. That result alone should have forced African football followers to reconsider their expectations of the Scorchers.
The Nigerian victory was followed by another impressive result, with Malawi defeating Egypt 3-1. In their first two matches, therefore, the Scorchers scored six goals and collected six points, showing that the victory over Nigeria was not simply a one-off surprise.
Malawi then suffered their first defeat of the tournament, losing 2-1 to Zambia. But even that result could not erase the bigger picture.
The Scorchers had already demonstrated that they could score against and beat some of the continent’s strongest teams.
The group-stage figures provide further evidence. Malawi scored six goals in three matches, an average of two goals per game. They won two of their three matches, giving them a 66.7 percent winning rate in the group stage.
Those statistics matter because Malawi were not competing against ordinary opposition. Nigeria arrived with ten WAFCON titles, while Zambia were already an established force in African women’s football and Egypt also brought considerable continental experience.
Then came the knockout stage, where the Scorchers continued to prove that the group-stage success was not accidental.
Malawi defeated Ghana 2-1 in the quarter-final, a result that also secured the country’s historic qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
That progression is important when analysing the Scorchers because it shows consistency. The team did not defeat one big opponent and disappear,they continued producing results when the pressure increased.
The story becomes even stronger when we look beyond Morocco. COSAFA’s official records show that Malawi won their maiden COSAFA Women’s Championship in 2023, defeating Zambia 2-1 in the final.
That 2023 campaign was itself statistically impressive. COSAFA records show that Malawi scored 15 goals in the group stage and conceded only four, while Temwa Chawinga finished the tournament as top scorer with nine goals.
Malawi also went through the 2023 COSAFA group stage with a perfect nine points from three matches, according to COSAFA’s historical tournament records.That is why describing the current Scorchers as a surprise team would be misleading.
The evidence shows a gradual rise,regional champions in 2023, competitive performances afterwards and now a historic WAFCON final appearance.
There is another factor that statistics alone cannot completely capture continuity. A significant core of the current Scorchers has played together for many years, creating an understanding that can be seen in their movement, passing and positioning.
When players spend years together, they begin to understand one another almost instinctively.
A midfielder knows when a striker is likely to make a run, while defenders understand how their partners react when an opponent attacks.
That understanding becomes particularly important at international level, where national teams normally have limited time together before major competitions.
Malawi’s continuity gives them an advantage that cannot simply be created during a short training camp.
The team has also benefited from players who have gained experience playing outside Malawi, including in Europe and other competitive football environments. That exposure can bring greater tactical awareness, professionalism and experience of playing under pressure.
The Chawinga sisters have also provided another dimension. Their experience and individual quality have given Malawi attacking players capable of changing matches, while the wider squad has shown that it is not dependent on one individual.
This is why the statistics and the history point in the same direction. The 2023 COSAFA title was not an isolated achievement.
COSAFA records show that Malawi defeated Zambia 2-1 in that final, with Asimenye Simwaka and Sabinah Thom scoring the goals.
Three years later, the same footballing culture has taken Malawi onto a much bigger stage.
They have beaten Nigeria 3-2, Egypt 3-1, Algeria 3-1and Ghana 2-1 during this WAFCON campaign, demonstrating that they can compete with teams possessing greater continental pedigree.
Of course, Cameroon will provide another major test. A final is different from a group match and the pressure of playing for Africa’s biggest women’s football prize will be enormous.
But Malawi should not enter Sunday’s final believing they are there by accident. The numbers tell us otherwise.
Two group stage wins, six group stage goals, victories over major African opponents, a historic World Cup qualification and a previous COSAFA championship provide substantial evidence of genuine progress.
The Scorchers may still be the underdogs, but being an underdog does not mean having no chance. It simply means that the statistics, rather than reputation, have to do the talking.And perhaps that is the biggest lesson from Morocco. Malawi women’s football has moved from hope to evidence.
The 2023 COSAFA championship was the foundation; the 2026 WAFCON campaign is the strongest evidence yet that the Scorchers have developed into a serious continental force.
So, before Cameroon and Malawi meet on Sunday, perhaps it is time to stop asking whether the Scorchers deserve a chance.The results, the numbers and the history already say they do.
