Malawi women’s national team head coach Lovemore Fazili will not lead the side as official head coach at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil after the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) decided to recruit a replacement. FAM president Fleetwood Haiya confirmed on October 20, 2026, that Fazili cannot hold the top role because he has a Confederation of African Football (CAF) B coaching licence rather than a CAF A diploma.
Neither FIFA nor CAF has issued a personal ban against Fazili. Instead, Malawi’s football leadership made an internal decision to hire a coach who meets continental licensing rules before the tournament begins on June 24, 2027.
The decision comes two months after Fazili guided Malawi, nicknamed the Scorchers, to their first World Cup qualification. Appointed in August 2022, he won the country’s first senior international trophy at the 2023 COSAFA Women’s Championship before taking the squad to the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.
Malawi beat Ghana 2-1 in the quarter-finals in Rabat on August 9, 2026, to claim one of Africa’s four automatic World Cup spots, and finished as runners-up after losing 3-0 to Cameroon in the August 16 final. That run lifted Malawi 49 places to 104th in the FIFA Women’s World Ranking on October 19, 2026.
What Fleetwood Haiya Said
Speaking to Zodiak Broadcasting Station television on October 20, 2026, in remarks reported by The Nation, Haiya noted that Fazili’s contract expires at the end of October 2026. Haiya said CAF allowed Fazili to oversee the squad at WAFCON only because he had an active contract at the time. Haiya said,
Now that he is out of contract, let me tell the nation that he cannot lead the Scorchers at the World Cup. We will need a head coach with proper qualifications.
Haiya added that FAM is consulting FIFA to recruit a properly qualified head coach. Fazili will still travel to Brazil as part of the coaching staff, though in a different position. “The technical subcommittee will decide what role he will play,” Haiya said.
What the CAF and FIFA rules require
Coaching badges in African football progress from introductory D and C licences up to the B, A, and Pro levels. Under CAF coaching standards for national teams, the head coach of a senior national side must hold at least a CAF A diploma or an approved foreign equivalent. Coaches with a CAF B licence may sit on the bench as assistant coaches, analysts, or technical advisors, making Fazili eligible for a supporting role in the dugout. CAF’s online registration system automatically rejects any head coach entry without a valid A-level licence number.
FIFA does not issue its own regional coaching badges and relies on confederations like CAF to verify credentials. For the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, FIFA requires each team to register specific bench roles and gives the listed head coach sole authority to issue tactical instructions from the technical area. Teams must also follow new FIFA Council coaching regulations approved on March 19, 2026, which require every women’s national team to have a woman serving as either the head coach or an assistant coach.
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Can Fazili still lead the team in Brazil?
Two potential routes exist that could have kept Fazili in practical charge, though FAM leadership has ruled out both. First, Fazili is scheduled to attend a CAF A course that FAM will host in Blantyre between November and December 2026. However, the course requires 240 hours of training and assessments over several months. Haiya said World Cup coaching lists must be submitted before the exam results are released, adding,
Also, what if he fails the exams? I am not saying he will fail. I am confident that he will pass the exams. But we cannot put all our eggs in one basket.
A second option would be to repeat the arrangement Malawi used in Morocco. On October 21, 2026, National Football Coaches Association chairperson Aubrey Nankhuni disclosed that assistant coach Maggie Chombo-Sadik, who holds a CAF A licence, was officially registered as head coach on CAF match sheets at WAFCON while Fazili directed the team.
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Nankhuni urged FAM to keep that setup for Brazil, warning that “bringing in a new coach will only destabilise the team” because the players and staff know each other well. Although registering Chombo-Sadik as head coach would satisfy both CAF and FIFA rules, FAM has decided to hire a new manager instead.
With Fazili’s contract expiring at the end of October 2026, FAM has yet to name his successor or confirm his new title on the technical panel. The association faces key milestones ahead of the World Cup final draw in Rio de Janeiro on December 11, 2026, and the submission of final tournament delegations to FIFA in mid 2027.
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