The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has been urged to resume its initiative of identifying players of Malawian origin playing in Europe and other countries to represent the Malawi national football teams.

Football analyst Philip Pasula made the remarks, noting that several countries in North and West Africa are benefiting from a similar approach by recruiting players who were born, raised and play football abroad.

Pasula says reviving the initiative would help Malawi attract players with ability, exposure and top-level experience.

> “FAM should seriously restart the initiative because, at the moment, the national team is not doing well in the FIFA World Rankings. It is difficult for players to be exported to Europe right now, but those countries already have players playing there, and it is easier to call them up,” he says.

Pasula says identifying such players could help Malawi’s national teams perform better in various competitions, observing that most players currently relied upon by the Flames play in other African countries.

> “Most of our foreign-based players play their football in Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa and some in the DRC. This is the time for FAM to be very serious with this, as we are very low,” Pasula says.

FAM championed the initiative in the past, with players such as Kieran Ngwenya, Jubril Okedina and Henry Kumwenda being identified. However, the future of the programme remains unclear.

Other players, including Shaquille Gwengwe and Nelson Khumbeni, are currently playing football in Europe and elsewhere outside Africa and are of Malawian origin.