The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has granted Malawi temporary approval to play the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.

The Flames were playing their home matches at Orlando Stadium in South Africa after CAF had condemned Bingu as unfit for international games.

However, in a latest development CAF Director of Development Raul Chipenda has confirmed the temporary certification of Bingu venue.

“Please note that the approved stadium will be set as the venue to host the match Group D-Malawi v Ethiopia related to the group stage qualifiers of the Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 20223 matchday 1,” Chipenda said in a letter addressed to Football Association of Malawi (FAM).

“Kindly find the attached in Annexe A, the stadium comments and remarks to be addressed in the coming period by the stadium management, in order to ensure that the stadium is permanently approved in the  future for CAF competitions.”

CAF Inspector Ivan Lengwe Mumba from Zambia inspected Bingu stadium on Thursday.

Malawi FA General Secretary Alfred Gunda has thanked the government for getting the stadium certified.

“We have come a long way to achieve this, and we must thank the Malawi government and the FAM leadership for the effort and resources that has enabled us get this status. It was important to have the pitch certified for international matches so that the Flames play home matches in Malawi to manage costs and allow Malawians to support their beloved Flames at their backyard,” he said.

Malawi open their 2023 AFCON group qualifiers against Ethiopia on home soil later this month.