A group of football loving Malawians based in the United States has rewarded Malawi National football team players with K2.8 million cash for their outstanding performance at the 2021TotalErnegies Africa Cup of Nations.
The group raised the funds through a Whatsup campaign and each player pocketed K95, 000.00 while the team’s equipment manager and security officer got K70,000.00 each.
Chairperson for the grouping Tonny Chirwa said they have given the players the money as a token of appreciation for a job well done in Cameroon as well as a motivation for them to continue working hard and aim high.
“As group of Malawian football enthusiasts based in the US, we were so impressed with the Flames showing at AFCON and decided to motivate and reward the players to spur them to greater performance .
“The group intends to hold these campaigns on a needs basis because FAM and government alone cannot do everything for the Flames, they need to be helped. Moving forward, this initiative will also be extended to other sporting disciplines in Malawi,” said Chirwa.
The Flames qualified for the knockout stages of the competition for the first time ever in their third outing at the AFCON which is currently in the semifinal stages.
Malawi lost 1-0 to Guinea in their first match played on January 10th before they recovered to beat Zimbabwe 2-1 on January 14th. The team finished their group stage campaign with a goalless draw against Senegal on January 18th, which earned them a spot in the round of 16 as one of the best third placed teams.
The Flames then lost 2-1 Morocco in the Round of 16 and returned home to a Heroes welcome on Friday January 28.
