The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) is expected to appoint former Kaizer Chiefs captain and defender Patrick Mabedi on a full-time basis after being an interim coach for the Malawi national team for about four months.
Siya sources have indicated that FAM could have given Mabedi a two-year contract starting from November 1.
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Since he took over in June, Mabedi has never lost a game in 90 minutes as he drew with Guinea and Ethiopia in the AFCON qualifiers. He lost in the semi-finals of the COSAFA Cup to South Africa on penalties.
In the recent past, Mabedi was also an assistant coach at Chiefs and was even the interim head coach in 2018.
Talking in an exclusive interview with Soccer Laduma after getting an offer from FAM, the former Moroka Swallows defender stated that he is honoured that his country has decided he is the right person for the coaching job.
"This is a great honour for me. We have started a foundation for the national team and we have to continue from here now. We did very well in the AFCON qualifiers where we didn't lose our last two games," Mabedi told the Siya crew.
"And if you also look at the way we played at the COSAFA Cup in July in South Africa then you can see that we have a way forward. Most of the players in the team are young and new to the national team set up.
"We are building a team for the future which can compete against the best not only in the COSAFA region but also in Africa and beyond," Mabedi said.
Mabedi's main assignment starts with the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in November. Malawi are in Group H with Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Liberia and Sao Tome and Principe.
Mabedi stated that he knows it's a tough group and that they are ready for the battles ahead.
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"We are ready to go out there and compete. We have a team of determined players who want to represent their country and give their best. We will go out there and fight. Nothing is impossible as we also want to go to the World Cup finals just like any other country," Mabedi observed.
Meanwhile FAM has given Mabedi three main mandates in his two-year contract. The first one is to qualify for the AFCON 2025 finals. Then also finish in the top two of the World Cup 2026 qualifiers and finally to at least achieve a semi-final finish in the COSAFA Cup which FAM views as a developmental tournament.
FAM President Walter Nyamilandu Manda has responded that there has been discussions on the appointment of Mabedi but didn't want to go into the details yet.
"Yes, that's true Mr Mabedi has been recommended as the new Flames coach but the general secretary will issue a full statement on that," Nyamilandu told Soccer Laduma.
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