Mponda names COSAFA Under 20 provisional squad

Nov 12, 2019 Malawi24 Reporter Politics 1

Malawi Under 20 National Football Team coach Peter Mponda has named his 2019 COSAFA Under 20 Youth Championship 34-man provisional squad, retaining most of last year’s members.

One of the new players Wisdom Mpinganjira.

Mponda has called 16 players, who were part of the Under 20 squad that participated in the CAF Under 20 Qualifiers and the COSAFA Youth Championship in 2018.

The former Flames captain has also called nine players who were part of the 2018 COSAFA Under 17 championship squad in Mauritius while the other nine are new.

Announcing the squad on behalf of Mponda during a press conference on Tuesday morning, team manager Aubrey Nankhuni said the technical panel decided to go for continuity as part of FAM’s long-term player development process.

“We already have a pool of players who have been part of the system in the past two years and still qualify to take part in this year’s competition. So, it was important to bring them back as we continue to build them for the future.

“But we have also brought in nine new players who have never been part of the setup but are good players who must try their luck,” said Nankhuni.

The team will go into residential camp at the Mpira Village in Blantyre on Wednesday and will start training on Thursday.

The following is the full squad:

Goalkeepers

Elliasi Missi-Nyasa Big Bullets

Anthony Singini-Karonga UTD

Hestings Banda-CIVO UTD

Defenders

Innocent Shema-Silver Youth

Blessings Mpokera-Nyasa Big Bullets Youth

Josephy Balakasi-Mtopwa FC

Hadji Wali-Silver Strikers