Malawi women's national football team

History

2002–2010: Formation and Early Years

The Malawi women's national football team was established in the early 2000s, during a period when many African nations were forming women's teams. Malawi made its first appearance on the international stage in April 2002, participating in the inaugural COSAFA Women's Championship held in Harare, Zimbabwe. In their first official match on 20 April 2002, they were defeated 8–0 by neighboring Zambia. The team recorded its first victory in the following match, defeating Lesotho 3–0, before losing to the hosts in the final match of the tournament.

In 2004, Malawi took part in its first qualifying campaign for the African Women's Championship, advancing past Uganda by walkover before losing 9–0 on aggregate to Ethiopia. A second attempt in 2006 was unsuccessful, although the team earned its first point with a scoreless draw against Benin in the second leg. From that period until the 2010s, Malawi competed primarily at the regional level, participating in the COSAFA Women's Championship.

2011–2018: Building Phase

In 2011, during the fourth COSAFA Women's Championship, Malawi made history by qualifying for the semi-finals for the first time. However, losses to South Africa and Tanzania left the team in fourth place. The following year, Malawi participated in the African Women's Championship qualifiers and recorded its first-ever victory in a continental qualifying match by defeating Zambia 4–2, overturning a heavy first-leg defeat. The team then went on a three-year hiatus before returning in 2015, when they played a friendly against Tanzania.{{cite web |date=3 October 2015|title= Malawi Women To End International Football Hibernation|url=http://www.africansportsmonthly.com/sports-news/-malawi-women-to-end-international-football-hibernation|website=africansportsmonthly.com|access-date=6 November 2025}} A similar situation occurred in 2016, with only a single match played throughout the year.

The return of the COSAFA Women's Championship in 2017, and its transition to an annual event, proved crucial in providing competitive matches for the She-Flames. Although the team was eliminated in the group stage in both 2017 and 2018, the number of games played tripled compared to the previous two years.

2019–present: Breakthrough Years

In 2019, Malawi participated in its first Olympic Games qualifying tournament, defeating Mozambique 11–1 and 3–0 across the two legs to advance to the first round. At that year's COSAFA Women's Championship, Malawi recorded two wins out of three matches, including a notable 13–0 victory against Comoros. Although the team was eliminated by Kenya in the first round of Olympic qualifying, their performance demonstrated significant progress.

In January 2020, the team's nickname was officially changed to "the Scorchers", distinguishing them from the men's team, known as "the Flames". Increased match experience led to improved results and a narrowing gap with top Southern African sides. In 2021, Malawi reached the final of the COSAFA Championship, narrowly losing to Tanzania. Later that year, the team participated in the 2022 WAFCON qualifiers, facing regional rivals Zambia; although Malawi was eliminated after the second-leg loss, the results reflected continued improvement.

In September 2023, as preparation for that year's regional tournament, Malawi played two friendly matches against Seychelles, winning both 17–0, marking their largest victories to date. During the tournament itself, Malawi went undefeated and captured their first COSAFA Women's Championship title, significantly raising the team's profile and paving the way for more fixtures. While they failed to defend their title in 2024, the federation arranged additional matches, and in 2025 the team played eight international friendlies, a record for the side. In October 2025, Malawi achieved a historic milestone by qualifying for the Women's Africa Cup of Nations for the first time, defeating Angola over a two-leg aggregate in the final qualifying round.

Coaching staff

Managers History

• Temwa Msuku (2012)
• Thom Mkorongo (2015)
• Maggie Chombo-Sadiki (2016–2018)
• Stuart Mbolembole (2018)
• Abel Mkandawire (2019)
• McNebert Kazuwa (2020–2021)
• Lovermore Fazili (2023-)

Results and fixtures

Main article: Malawi women's national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2025

• Chitundu
• Kundananji
• Kundananji
• Nachula
• Kadzere
• Chinzimu
• Thom
• Mthandi
• Motlhalo
• Magaia
• Motau
• Badri
• Ouzraoui
• Jraïdi
• Chapelle
• Ta. Chawinga
• Kadzere
• Chinzimu

Players

Current squad

The following 25 players were called up for the 2023 Three Nations Women Tournament held from 28 November to 2 December 2025 in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Recent call-ups

The following players had been called up to a squad in 12 months preceding the above draft.

Previous squads

;COSAFA Women's Championship

• 2020 COSAFA Women's Championship squad
• 2022 COSAFA Women's Championship squad
• 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship squad

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

:*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Olympic Games

:*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Africa Cup of Nations

COSAFA Championship

References

References

1. Phimbi, Elijah. (1 October 2015). "Malawi womens football team returns to action: To face Tanzania".
2. Zgambo, Mike Lyson. (29 December 2016). "Malawi's women football match against Zambia free of charge".
3. (18 August 2017). "Cosafa women's football tournament to have record participants".
4. Muheya, Green. (5 April 2019). "Malawi storm to 11-1 win against Mozambique in women football: 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers".
5. (11 August 2019). "Team spirit drives national women's football team".
6. Phimbi, Elijah. (2 September 2019). "Malawi women football team crush out of Olympic finals after Kenya defeat".
7. Maona, Benjamin. (20 January 2020). "Call them 'The Scorchers', not 'She-Flames'".
8. (9 October 2021). "Tanzania prevail over Malawi to win Cosafa Women's Championship".
9. (19 October 2021). "Shepolopolo tests in-form Malawi's appetite for AFCON".
10. (4 December 2023). "Scorchers hammer Seychelles 17-0 in final friendly match". Africa Press.
11. Vinestock, Drew. (17 October 2023). "COSAFA Cup: Malawi claim historic title with win over Zambia".
12. (20 October 2025). "Malawian President rewards women's football team for winning COSAFA Championship".
13. Mbewe, Edwin. (31 October 2024). "Schorchers fail to defend Cosafa Women's Championship in Semi-Finals".
14. Kanyama, Bright. (10 June 2025). "Scorchers Set for Friendly Against Morocco".
15. (28 October 2025). "WAFCON 2026: Malawi make history with inaugural qualification".
16. (14 January 2012). "She-polopolo massacre Malawi 7–0".
17. (21 July 2015). "Thom Mkorongo appointed women's coach - the Times Group Malawi".
18. (24 January 2019). "She-Flames coaches' contracts expire - the Times Group Malawi".
19. (26 February 2018). "She-Flames coach Stuart Mbolembole quits - the Times Group Malawi".
20. (12 March 2019). "Abel Mkandawire is new She-Flames coach - the Times Group Malawi".
21. (November 2019). "She-Flames coaches fired - the Times Group Malawi".
22. (11 March 2020). "FA Malawi appoints Kazuwa, Nkolongo as women football coaches – Malawi Nyasa Times – News from Malawi about Malawi".
23. (21 November 2025). "Fazili Names 25-Member Squad for Three Nations Tournament".