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FORMER Zimbabwe coach Callisto Pasuwa has been linked with a national team role in Malawi as interim coach of the Flames for the remainder of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. 

Pasuwa is currently head coach of Nyasa Big Bullets in the TNM Malawi Super League. 

According to a report from The Nation newspaper in Malawi, the Football Association of Malawi met at the weekend and came up with the recommendation. 

The proposal follows an announcement by FAM on Saturday that they will not renew the Romanian coach Mario Marinica’s contract and that he will proceed on leave for the remainder of his one-year contract. 

If the proposal is successful, Pasuwa, who is currently the best coach in the Malawi domestic setup with four league titles on the bounce, is expected to lead the Flames in matches against Guinea and Ethiopia. 

Malawi, however, are virtually out of the qualification race after picking up only three points from a possible 12. Guinea and Egypt, who have nine points apiece, with two rounds of play remaining, are favourites from the group. 

Pasuwa, who also had a playing career with the Zimbabwe national team, has had coaching stints with the Zimbabwe Under-23 side and the Warriors which he led to the 2017 AFCON finals in Gabon after qualifying with a game to spare, in a successful campaign that included back-to-back wins against the Flames. 

Pasuwa has built his reputation in Malawi after winning record four Super League titles in succession with Big Bullets. Pasuwa also achieved a similar feat with Dynamos when he won four straight titles between 2011 and 2014. 

He is currently on the road to a new milestone in Malawi as his Bullets currently lead the title race by 10 points. 

This is not the first time that Pasuwa has been linked with the Flames. Reports suggested the former Dynamos man was hired by the Malawi Football Association as a “consultant coach” for the AFCON finals in Cameroon last year. 

The latest reports in Malawi say Pasuwa’s name came up again when the technical sub-committee met on Saturday at Mpira Village in Blantyre to map the way forward.

While confirming that the meeting indeed proposed an interim technical panel, the committee’s acting chairperson Suzgo Ngwira-Simbi, who is also a FAM executive committee member, could not be drawn to reveal their identities. 

She said: “It was recommended that the post should be advertised, but in the interim, a caretaker panel was recommended. However, I cannot reveal the names as this is just a recommendation to the FAM executive committee.” 

But a well-placed source confided in The Nation that the committee settled for Pasuwa due to the Zimbabwean mentor’s impressive track record both at club and national team levels. 

He said: “A couple of names were thrown into the fray, but in the end it was resolved that Pasuwa should be recommended to the FAM executive committee.” 

The source further revealed that former Mighty Mukuru Wanderers head coach Alex Ngwira and Patrick Mabedi, who was one of Marinica’s assistants, were recommended for the posts of assistant coach. 

“On its part, the National Football Coaches Association proposed Ngwira as interim head coach with (Blue Eagles coach) Elia Kananji as his assistant, but after a lengthy debate, it was felt that Pasuwa would be ideal,” said the source. According to the source, the meeting further proposed  a three-member advisory  panel comprising members of the technical sub-committee, namely Yasin Osman, Kelvin M’mangisa and FAM technical director Benjanin Kumwenda. The source further said it was recommended that when hiring the next permanent coach, FAM should also consider engaging a foreign African coach to ease cultural and communication challenges.