Malawi’s historic WAFCON run has shattered expectations on the pitch. Now the Scorchers’ success offers Corporate Malawi an opportunity to reward excellence, build national pride and help turn football’s soft power into a national asset.

OPINION | By Patrick Mwanza

The script for this tournament was supposed to be simple: the new kids on the block arrive quietly, keep their heads down, show up for the games and, whatever happens, do not upset anyone.

There is an unwritten order to these things. The established teams play their football. The newcomers learn, participate and, if they are lucky, wait for their turn.

Nobody, of course, would admit to writing such a script. Not sports journalists. Not pundits. Not fans. Perhaps not even the organisers.

After all, every one of the 16 teams at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) is guaranteed participation money. So why make too much noise?

Then came Malawi.

Ranked 153rd in the world and appearing at the WAFCON finals for the first time, the Scorchers arrived in Morocco with what can only be described as an inconvenient mindset: they intended to compete.

Their first opponents were defending champions Nigeria, ranked 36th in the world and winners of the tournament a record 10 times.

It was supposed to be a mismatch.

It was anything but.

After 90 minutes, the Super Falcons were grounded. Malawi had won 3–2.

The Scorchers were not done.

They followed that up with a 3–1 victory over Egypt before losing 2–1 to Zambia in their final group match. That defeat did not end Malawi’s adventure. The Scorchers had already done enough to advance.

Then came Ghana.

The Black Queens took the lead, but the Scorchers did what they have increasingly made a habit of doing in Morocco: they refused to panic. Temwa Chawinga equalised and Rose Kadzere scored the winner as Malawi came from behind to beat Ghana 2–1 and reach the semi-finals.

On Wednesday, Algeria were next.

The Desert Foxes may have fancied their chances. They clearly had not read the new script.

Tabitha Chawinga scored twice and Temwa added another as Malawi won 3–1 to reach the WAFCON final.

Think about that for a moment.

A team appearing at the tournament for the first time has beaten Nigeria, Ghana and Algeria on the way to the final. Along the way, the Scorchers have also secured Malawi a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

This is no longer a pleasant little underdog story.

It is a national sporting achievement.

And it is precisely why Corporate Malawi should now stop watching from the sidelines.

NBS Bank has already understood the moment. The bank has announced a K245 million reward for the Scorchers, with each player expected to receive K7 million directly.

Kudos to NBS for leading the way.

Its chief executive, Temwani Simwaka, spoke of courage, resilience and determination. Those are admirable qualities, but they are also qualities that Malawi’s corporate sector should recognise as worth supporting.

NBS has got the ball rolling.

Now let others pick up the ball.

There is nothing unreasonable about asking Malawi’s private sector and wealthy individuals to do more for a team that has given the country something that money cannot easily buy: pride.

And this is where the Scorchers’ achievement becomes bigger than football.

Sport is often dismissed as entertainment. But successful sport can be something much more useful to a country. It can become soft power.

A team that plays with courage, discipline and intelligence tells the outside world something about the country it represents. It creates curiosity. It creates conversation. It creates an emotional connection.

That matters for a country such as Malawi, which wants to attract foreign direct investment and more tourists.

The Peter Mutharika administration has said it wants Malawi to become more attractive to investors and visitors. Fine. But attracting people to a country is not only about investment conferences, policy documents and glossy brochures.

Sometimes, it is about giving people a reason to look at Malawi in the first place.

The Scorchers have done exactly that.

They have put Malawi’s name on television screens, social media feeds and sports pages across Africa and beyond. They have challenged the assumptions people make about a team ranked 153rd in the world. They have shown that Malawi can compete with, and beat, some of Africa’s established football powers.

That is soft power in football boots.

On Sunday, the Scorchers will face Cameroon in the WAFCON final.

Whatever happens, they have already shredded the script.

They were not supposed to beat Nigeria. They did.

They were not supposed to reach the semi-finals. They did.

They were certainly not supposed to reach the final.

Yet here they are.

So let the Scorchers play without fear. Let them continue to be brave, smart and intelligent.

And let Corporate Malawi take note.

NBS has shown what is possible.

Now, surely, it is time for others to step onto the pitch.

—

Also Read: Malawi’s Scorchers have earned their moment. Now fund them