Fifa has given Football Association of Malawi (FAM) to host the 2018 World Cup preliminary qualifier against Tanzania’s Taifa Stars at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.
The match is slated for October 11.
This follows an inspection carried out by Fifa envoy Joseph Nkole from Zambia last week.
There were fears that Fifa could bar FAM from staging the match at the stadium due to rusty stands and threadbare artificial turf but Nkole said the ailing facility can still host international games up to December this year..
“We have good news. We will be able to host our return match against Tanzania at the Kamuzu Stadium as Fifa has given us the green light,” said Football Association of Malawi (FAM) chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda during a press conference at Chiwembe Technical Centre in Blantyre on Wednesday.
“The Stadium will be available for international games until December when we will probably shift to the newly constructed Bingu National Stadium because the other altenative, Civo Stadium, cannot host World Cup qualifiers.”
However, he said the game will kick off at exactly 2pm and not the normal 2:30pm so as to accommodate extra-time and penalties if the match will get to such stages since Kamuzu Stadium has no functioning floodlights.
