FANS’ ROLE IN THE FLAMES’ QUEST TO CONQUER THE COSAFA REGION
The Flames’ impressive exploits at AFCON 2021, where they exited the tournament in the round of 16 , have reignited the belief that Malawi can reach greater heights in international football. Considering that usual regional hegemons such as South Africa, Angola, and Zambia seem to be on an endless downward spiral, the Flames have a fair chance to become a football powerhouse for Southern Africa. To fully claim this status, though, the Flames need to build on their AFCON performance by registering solid results in their next assignments, which will include friendlies, the COSAFA tournament, CHAN 2022, and AFCON 2023 qualifiers. Positive results in these engagements would see the Flames improve on FIFA rankings and earn international recognition. For this to materialize, however, all stakeholders, including the Ministry of Sports, FAM, Mario Marinica and his technical team, the corporate world, local clubs, the players, the media, and us (the fans), need to take concrete action to s