President Lazarus Chakwera on Thursday evening hosted Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya national teams at the Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.

The four teams, which are participating in the Four Nations Tournament in Lilongwe, were treated to a dinner and performances by musician Lawi and the National Dance Troupe.

Chakwera, addressing teams said it was an honour for the First Family to have dinner with them.

“I and the First Lady feel honoured to break bread with football royalty from the region. Football connect and breaks barriers among nations. Football unites people of different backgrounds as they share joys and sorrows. Through this tournament we are strengthening our partnership with other nations who we do business with,” he said.

In his speech during the dinner, Football Association of Malawi president Fleetwood Haiya expressed gratitude to President Chakwera for hosting the four nations to a dinner.

“This is a demonstration of commitment from your Excellency towards the development of sports in the country. This is a testimony that you really want to develop sport.

“The tournament demonstrates the partnership of unity of purpose among football associations from the four countries,” he said
Zimbabwe Football Association general secretary Yvonne Mapika-Manwa speaking on behalf of the teams thanked Chakwera for allowing the country to host the tournament.

“This is a special event for Zimbabwe after a long time without taking part in football tournaments. On behalf of the three teams I thank you for taking time to host us by opening your home to us,” she said.

The four nations seniors are using the tournament to prepare for World Cup qualifiers in June while the Under-20s are fine-tuning for Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers later this year.