Flames land safely in South Africa

…ready for Tanzania in 2017 Cosafa opener

The 20 man Flames squad arrived safely in South Africa on Thursday afternoon for the 2017 Cosafa Castle Cup which is scheduled to kickoff on Sunday, 25 June.

The team is in group A alongside Angola, Mauritius and guest nation Tanzania.

Ronny Van Geneudgen’ men will kickstart their campaign on Sunday against the Taifa Stars at Moruleng Stadium before facing Mauritius two days later at Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace.

Flames will then complete their group assignment with a fixture against Angola at the same venue.

Group winner will then proceed to the quarterfinals of the competition where they will play host nation South Africa.

RVG has given Peter Cholopi and Ian Chinyama their first senior national team call up, with Micium Mhone being recalled after missing out on CHAN and the recent 2019 Afcon qualifier against Comoros Island in which Malawi won 1-nil.

The Belgium tactician’ plans were foiled by South African clubs who refused to release players for the tourney claiming it’s not played on FIFA calendar.

Malawi has never won the cup despite reaching finals twice in a row in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

The Flames only managed to win the plate section in 2016 after beating Bafana Bafana on penalties.