Malawi National Team: The Flames Football Squad, Fixtures and African Kick Off Times

The Malawi national team, nicknamed the Flames, is the men's football side of Malawi, run by the Football Association of Malawi and known as Nyasaland until 1966. They played at the 1984, 2010 and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, reaching the Round of 16 in 2021, and had not qualified for the men's World Cup by the end of the 2026 qualifying campaign. For South African readers, the Malawi soccer team competes in the COSAFA Cup, so the regional thread runs through every section that follows.

The live modules show the Flames' fixtures, results, squad, standings and records. The sections below explain their honours with their years, the home ground in Lilongwe, and Malawi's football connections with Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. Malawi's CECAFA titles and COSAFA finals provide the regional context for their continental appearances.

Who Are the Flames, and Why Were They Once Called Nyasaland?

The Flames are Malawi's senior men's team, governed by the Football Association of Malawi, and they played their early internationals under the name Nyasaland until 1966. That first chapter began in 1957 with a 5 to 0 defeat by Northern Rhodesia, the side that became Zambia, so the oldest fixture on the record is a meeting of neighbours. From 1966 the team has carried the Malawi name, and the Flames nickname is the one supporters use across the region, from Lilongwe to Johannesburg.

The names Malawi and the Flames identify the same national side in the squad, fixture and results modules. Nyasaland belongs to the team's history before the change of name in 1966.

How Do You Read Malawi’s Qualifying Table?

Malawi's campaign details, opponents and results appear in the live qualifying module. Angola met Malawi at the 2010 finals, when the Flames lost 2 to 0.

Use Malawi's qualifying table or log to compare matches played and results, then consult the accompanying tie rules when teams are level. The table shows how home and away results contribute to qualification.

Start with the number of fixtures completed by each side. A points gap needs that context because Malawi and another team may have played different numbers of matches. Then read the qualification places and tie rules together: goal difference, goals scored and results between level teams should only be given the weight specified for that competition. The fixture list supplies the remaining part of the picture, showing which opportunities to collect points are still available to the Flames.

Have Malawi Been to the Africa Cup of Nations?

Malawi played at the 1984, 2010 and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, beginning with a group containing Algeria, Nigeria and Ghana in 1984. The Flames lost 3 to 0 to Algeria, then drew 2 all with Nigeria, and lost 1 to 0 to Ghana, leaving the group with a single point. That draw with the Super Eagles is the defining Malawi match for a Nigerian reader, because it shows a side at its first finals holding one of the strongest teams on the continent. It is also a useful reminder that a Flames fixture has never been a formality for Nigeria.

The return in 2010 opened with a 3 to 0 win over Algeria, one of the best results in Malawi's history, before defeats by Angola (2 to 0) and Mali (3 to 1) ended the campaign at the group stage. At the 2021 tournament, Malawi reached the Round of 16. That appearance added a knockout match to the Flames' continental history.

Who Is in the Malawi Squad, and Who Coaches the Flames?

Malawi's squad module carries the selections for each international window, with positions, clubs and caps alongside the players' names. Those club details show the Flames' connections across African football as selections change.

For a South African reader, the club column is a useful starting point for finding familiar players in Malawi colours. Readers in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda can use it to trace the same connections across domestic leagues. Read positions alongside the selected group rather than treating a list of names as a starting eleven. Selection, a place on the bench and an appearance are separate things, so the match record is the place to establish who actually played.

Kim Splidsboel coached Malawi from 2000 to 2002, a spell that included their COSAFA Cup runners up finish in 2002. That final provides a historical link between the team's coaching story and its regional honours.

Malawi Fixtures: What Time Is Kick Off Where You Live?

For Malawi internationals, the fixture module places WAT, EAT, SAST and GMT alongside each other. A Flames kick off could read Ghana 16:00 GMT, Nigeria 17:00 WAT, South Africa 18:00 SAST, and Kenya and Uganda 19:00 EAT, all marking the same instant. Each fixture's viewing entry identifies coverage by country, while completed Malawi matches move into the results record.

When arranging to watch the Flames with friends across these countries, share the fixture date and all four clock readings together. That keeps the conversation tied to one match even when supporters use different local times. Check the country attached to a viewing entry as carefully as the kick off: a listing for viewers in South Africa does not establish where the same Malawi match can be watched in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya or Uganda.

Where Do the Flames Play Their Home Matches?

The Flames play their home matches at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, the capital, and it is the ground where most of their qualifying campaigns are shaped. For visiting supporters from Zambia, South Africa or Tanzania, Lilongwe is the trip to plan around, and the fixtures module confirms the venue for each match before you book anything. For tickets, the Football Association of Malawi's own announcements ahead of each window are the place to look, since sales open match by match rather than as a season package.

Who Holds the Malawi National Team Records?

The records module identifies Malawi's appearance and scoring leaders and carries updates to their totals. Use the player names and figures together when comparing careers, and distinguish an individual milestone from a team result. Malawi recorded 8 to 1 wins against Botswana on 13 July 1968 and against Djibouti on 31 May 2008, while Gold Coast, now Ghana, won their meeting 12 to nil on 15 October 1962. In the FIFA ranking, Malawi occupied 53rd place in December 1992 and 138th in December 2007 and March 2008. Their subsequent Africa Cup of Nations appearance in 2010 gives those dated ranking snapshots a wider historical context.

What Have the Flames Won?

Malawi have won the CECAFA Cup three times, in 1978, 1979 and 1988, which is a striking record for a southern African nation in a competition built around East and Central Africa. Readers in Kenya and Uganda will know how hard that cup is to win, since the Harambee Stars and the Cranes have contested it for decades. Back to back titles in 1978 and 1979 put the Flames among the strongest sides in the region at the end of that decade, and the 1988 win showed the habit had not gone away.

Malawi finished as COSAFA Cup runners up in 2002 and 2003. Those consecutive finals connect the Flames' southern African record with their CECAFA successes in East and Central Africa.

Have Malawi Ever Played at the World Cup?

Malawi had not qualified for the men's World Cup by the end of the 2026 qualifying campaign. The live qualifying module carries the campaign format, opponents and results, allowing readers to follow how the Flames' home and away performances contribute to their progress.

Read the route to qualification before interpreting any individual result. The places available, the treatment of teams level on points and any further stage determine what Malawi need from a campaign. A home win or an away draw gains meaning through those conditions. Keep World Cup qualifying results separate from AFCON qualifiers and regional tournaments when comparing performances, so that the Flames' progress is assessed against the relevant opponents and competition format.

Why Do the Flames Matter in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda?

For Nigeria and Ghana, the link goes back to the 1984 finals, when Malawi drew 2 all with the Super Eagles and lost 1 to 0 to the Black Stars. Ghana also hold the record win over Malawi, the 12 to nil as Gold Coast in 1962, so Black Stars vs Malawi has a deeper history than most readers in Accra would guess. The head to head panel above lists every meeting with each of the five countries, with wins, draws and goals counted from the same set of matches. You can compare them with other sides in our national teams section.

Malawi's COSAFA Cup finals in 2002 and 2003 give South African readers a regional connection to the Flames. For readers in Kenya and Uganda, Malawi's CECAFA Cup victories in 1978, 1979 and 1988 connect their history to East African football. The head to head module adds the results of individual meetings to those shared competition histories.

For each pairing, look beyond the combined totals to the dates and competitions attached to the meetings. Malawi's 1984 finals matches belong to a particular tournament setting; a friendly or regional cup encounter answers a different question. This makes the comparison more useful for supporters following the Flames across Africa, while preserving the significance of each historical result.