As Malawians today witnessed the inauguration of the fourth edition of the COSAFA Champions League qualifiers, FAM President Fleetwood Haiya has promised of more exciting international events in the country.

The tourney-first of its kind to be hosted by Malawi-has kicked off today at the Mpira Stadium in Blantyre.

Teams emanating from countries within the COSAFA region such as Zambia,. Eswatini, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa and hosts Malawi are taking part in the highly rated tournament.

Malawi’s representatives in the competition are Ascent Academy of Lilongwe and are scheduled to play their first match against Young Buffaloes of Eswatini on Friday August 16, 2024.

Speaking to reporters after the inauguration of the tournament Haiya lauded the country’s progress in terms of competitiveness of  women’s football and hosting abilities.

Said Haiya: “Today we have witnessed the inauguration of this tournament which is the fourth edition of the qualifiers. Personally, I believe that this is going to motivate girls who aspires to become footballers.

“I promise you that this is not going to be the last. There are a lot more to come. This also symbolises that Malawi has talent and if we continue to participate in these tournaments chances are high that our players are going to be spotted and taken abroad. The girls that are currently playing their trades in foreign countries were spotted in similar competitions. Thus, it is important for our clubs and national team to participate in these competitions.”

The FAM president expressed his satisfaction with the progress so far achieved.

“I’m very much happy, filled with pride and joy that for the first time we re hosting this tournament. This has never happened before. This underscores our push to holistically develop and transform football.

“Once we have the passion, zeal and dedication from girls who aspire to become better players, it will directly uplift and strengthen our national team. Our continued hope is that at the end of the day we are going to have a strong Scorchers team. Therefore this is good news not only to FAM and the football family but largely to every Malawian.

“This is not the first tournament to host since we took over the mantle in December 2023, you may recall we also hosted the Four Nations Men’s Tournament in Lilongwe. So you can imagine that within seven months we have hosted these high profile events. I’m sure going into the future expect more good things to come,” he said.

Added Haiya: “export of talent remains our goal and is driven by our strategic plan. If we export more players we will bring more money (Forex) into our economy while we are raising the standards of our game.”

Sports minister Uchizi Mkandawire said he was positive and upbeat of Malawi’s ability both as a host nation and a participant in the tournament.

He said, “You know that our team are the current COSAFA Women’s champions and this consolidates the hopes that we have as a nation as far as women’s football is concerned.

“We are very excited and honoured that even our own team Ascent Academy is participating in the tournament which signifies that the standards of our women’s football are improving tremendously,” said Mkandawire.

He added that, “As government we are very much committed in supporting football in general and women’s football in particular. As you can see that government is constructing stadia across the country. We are also supporting all our national teams in all their engagements. For this reason that you can see for yourself a government that is serious in the promotion of sports in general and football in particular.”

The tournament runs from August 15-24.