Fazili highlights importance of Atlas Lionesses’ test for WAFCON qualifier

Fazili (left) drills Scorchers:

Photo Credit: Football Association of Malawi.

Malawi’s senior national women’s football team coach, Lovemore Fazili, has explained why the forthcoming friendly against Morocco’s Atlas Lionesses was crucial to the Scorchers’ preparations for a showdown against Angola.

The Malawians travel to Casablanca for the warm up match on June 19, 2025 to fine-tune for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) final qualifying round matches against Angola.

Such a friendly against the Atlas Lionesses would provide the Scorchers a final opportunity to gauge their strength ahead of the meeting with Angola in October 2025, Fazili said.

“The friendly match against Morocco will give us a good test ahead of the Angola match. We are very hopeful that by the time we will be playing our qualifier, we will have prepared well and there won’t be excuses,” the coach told Football Association of Malawi media.

The Scorchers have since started camp training in Blantyre on a high with the arrival of France-based attacker Rose Kabzere while her compatriot Tabitha Chawinga is expected on Friday.

“Everything is okay, and players are responding well. We have all the local players that we called into camp except midfielder Asimenye Simwaka who travelled outside the country for other duties, but she will join us on Friday,” Fazili added.

The only setback for the 2023 COSAFA Women’s Championship winners is that Tabitha’s sister Temwa has been ruled out of the trip to Morocco alongside defender Chimwemwe Madise due to club commitments.

Captain Tabitha Chawinga is expected to join the team at Mpira Palace on Friday while Vanessa Chikupira and Bernadetta Mkandawire will travel straight to Morocco from Kazakhstan.

The Scorchers have been busy this year, having played four strength-testing matches already against Zambia and South Africa twice each, winning once and losing thrice.

Fazili is gearing up for the WAFCON qualifying round matches against Angola.