First Lady to welcome Malawi’s Scorchers after WAFCON final 3-0

Malawi’s Scorchers will receive a formal welcome led by First Lady Gertrude Mutharika when they return from the WAFCON final, where Cameroon beat them 3-0 in Rabat on Sunday. The team’s campaign also secured Malawi’s first qualification for the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

The Scorchers are expected to arrive at Kamuzu International Airport before being taken into Lilongwe for the national reception. President Peter Mutharika has backed plans for a major celebration to honour the team’s run to the final, achieved on their tournament debut.

The homecoming programme will involve the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Culture, Lilongwe City Council, the Malawi National Council of Sports, the Malawi Police Service, the Malawi Defence Force, the Football Association of Malawi, the Malawi Olympic Committee and National Bank of Malawi. A military parade and brass band will feature, with activities beginning along the airport road as the team travels into the city.

Malawi entered the competition as Fifa’s lowest-ranked side, sitting 153rd in the world, but reached the final and returned with a silver medal. The result marks the country’s biggest achievement in the tournament and gives the women’s national team a place at the 2027 World Cup.

Football Association of Malawi president Fleetwood Haiya said the progress followed a women’s football strategy launched in May. The plan runs from 2025 to 2027 and forms part of the association’s wider 2024-2034 strategy, with ambitions to improve Malawi’s standing in southern Africa, across the continent and internationally.

The team’s preparations for Brazil will include the Olympic Games qualifiers scheduled to begin in October. FAM intends to use those matches as part of the World Cup build-up while also targeting an improvement from Malawi’s current ranking of 153rd into the global top 10.