Malawi’s soccer governing body, the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has appointed Zimbabwean industrious expatriate gaffer and FCB Nyasa Bullets coach Kallisto Pasuwa to take charge of the the Malawi Under-23 National Football Team at the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup in Durban, South Africa next month.
FAM general secretary Alfred Gunda confirming the Zimbabwean tactician’s appointment said: “It is true that Pasuwa has been drafted to take charge of the Malawi Under 23 national team.
“We are upbeat that he is the right man for the job and we believe that we will do better with him in charge. He is a very good coach with a knack to develop young players.
This is not the first time for the former Zimbabwe National Football Team and Dynamos FC coach to be linked with Malawi national teams.
When FAM parted ways with immediate-past Flames coach Mario Marinica, the previous FAM technical subcommittee recommended him to take over the mantle in an acting capacity, but FAM executive committee settled for the incumbent coach Patrick Mabedi.
The senior Flames will be busy with the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and Pasuwa is tasked to drill the young players making them ready for the national side.
However, the People’s Team have said they are not aware of the arrangement as FAM did not consult them.
Bullets chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda said: “We are in the dark as we have not yet been approached by FAM, we have heard about it from the grapevine. So we will wait to be approached and we will take it from there.
“Should they approach us, we’ll have to look at the terms because Pasuwa is still on a legally-binding contract.”
Pasuwa was noncommittal to comment on the matter when contacted.
Pasuwa’s resume
Pasuwa, a former Dynamos player, was part of the history making Dembare outfit that played in the African Champions league and also won several league titles with the club and was was best known for his midfield artistry and dribbling skills and occasional goal-scoring was the coach at Dynamos FC which is popularly known as Dembare, also doubled as the national team assistant coach.
It was however at Dembare that Pasuwa carved his name in the country’s history books when he won four consecutive league titles.
Many had expressed skepticism over Pasuwa’s capacity to coach a well-decorated outfit such as Dynamos after having taken over from Lloyd Mutasa whom he had been deputising.
Pasuwa silenced his critics with four deserved league titles on the trot including other trophies such as the Mbada Diamonds Cup, Gushungo Victory Cup and the Bob 90 Cup and during his successful stint at Dynamos, Pasuwa won twelve trophies, which include four league titles, a record only him holds.
Pasuwa’s coaching career with the national team both the under 23 and the senior side has been nothing short of exceptional.
Despite a series of poor training facilities and planning on the part of ZIFA, Pasuwa has produced very impressive results.
In an AFCON 2017 qualifier played against the flames of Malawi, the team traveled by bus after having trained as a unit for only a day, but upset Malawi 2-1 on their home turf.
He also followed the triumph of Malawi with another victory at Rufaro Stadium against the Comoros Islands in a CHAN qualifier. Pasuwa’s appointment as senior national team coach had been after he had secured the qualification of the under 23 side to play in the All Africa Games after dispatching continental powerhouses, Cameroon.
Following a series of broken promises by ZIFA to Callisto Pasuwa, he walked away from his job in mid 2015 just days before a crucial match with South Africa effectively throwing the country’s hopes of partaking in the Olympics into doubt.
Despite ZIFA getting money amounting to US 1 million, they had not paid Pasuwa a cent, resulting in the coach quitting his job at the eleventh hour.
He later returned to his job leading Zimbabwe to a third AFCON qualification after beating Malawi 3-0 at home, leading the country to qualification with a game to spare for the first time.
He joined Malawi’s FCB Nyasa Big Bullets head coach as head coach towards the end of the 2018 season following a successful tenure with the Zimbabwe national team in which he guided the Warriors to Africa Cup of Nations qualification.
The Zimbabwean, who has won five consecutive leagues cups with the Malawian flagship football outfit, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets has recently also been backed to take over as Amakhosi substantive coach following the sacking of Molefi Ntseki.
Cavin Johnson is currently Amakhosi caretaker coach, but former Mamelodi Sundowns forward Alois Bunjira feels Pasuwa would be the right man for the Chiefs job.
However, Pasuwa’s agent Felix Ngamanya Sapao says there has been no word from the Soweto giants regarding the coach’s services.
“Should they approach us, we’ll have to look at the terms because Pasuwa is still on a binding contract.”
Suzgo Nyirenda
Bullets Chief Executive Officer
