Malawi FA bemoans govt directive not to hire foreign coach
Last updated on .From the section Football
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) President Walter Nyamilandu says it could be a struggle to find a new coach for the national team.
The Malawi government has announced it cannot afford to hire an expatriate coach to replace Young Chimodzi.
"We have tried and tested most of the coaches and the remaining ones won't be good enough for us to find the right candidate," Nyamilandu told BBC Sport.
"The job is very demanding and the expertise is very rare locally."
Chimodzi was sacked last month following Malawi's 2-1 home defeat to Zimbabwe in their opening 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Former midfielder Ernest Mtawali has been appointed as caretaker coach and could now get the job on a permanent basis.
Malawi coaches are contracted to the government and paid through the Ministry of Sport and Youth Development.
Nyamilandu said the failure to find the right coach will affect their chances in 2018 World Cup qualifying.
"We are looking at another launch of a campaign to qualify for the World Cup and this is a tall order, it means Malawi must have a qualified coach," he said.
"We have looked around and there are very few - so we will be forced to narrow our search and focus on local coaches instead of broadening the hunt and get a capable coach available overseas."
He said FAM would like to have a new coach by the start of next month so that he can lead the team in their second Nations Cup qualifier away to Swaziland.
Nyamilandu added FAM wanted to hire an expatriate coach for two years so Mtawali could work alongside him.
He went on to warn Malawi fans should not have high expectations once a local coach is engaged permanently.
"When you settle for less the outcome is never desirable," he explained.
"Our loss against Zimbabwe in June should not have come as a surprise because that is what we settled for when we refused to engage [Tom] Saintfiet full time.
"Modern football is becoming very scientific and we need people will understand the game."
Belgian Tom Saintfiet was Malawi's last expatriate coach in 2013.
