Malawi National Beach Soccer Team head coach Willy Kumilambe has named an 18-member provisional squad ahead of the 2026 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, scheduled to take place from 28 November to 6 December in Senegal.
The Beach Soccer Hustlers will begin their training camp in Salima today before departing for Senegal on Tuesday, 17 November, to continue their preparations for the continental showpiece.
Malawi is expected to play a series of international friendly matches in Senegal, starting with two encounters against the hosts on 20 and 22 November. Kumilambe has retained six players who were part of his squad at the 2024 Beach Soccer AFCON in Egypt.
The experienced players include goalkeeper Justine Bonongwe, defender Sandram Saddie, midfielders Isaac Kajamu, Dala Simba and Frank Mwenelupembe, as well as striker Ibrahim Saidi. Speaking ahead of the team’s preparations, Kumilambe said his immediate focus is to ensure that both experienced and new players understand the team’s playing philosophy.
“Our priority now is to bring the team to a level where, once we start playing, everybody understands our philosophy and what we want to achieve,” said Kumilambe.
The coach also emphasised the need to improve the team’s attacking efficiency, particularly the contribution of strikers in front of goal.
“I believe in the quality of players we have, and we are looking at how the experienced players can combine with the new ones.
“My priority now is to address the problems we had with our attacking play. We were scoring goals, but most of them were coming from defenders and midfielders. We need to improve our firepower,” he said.
Malawi will open their Group B campaign against Morocco on Sunday, 29 November, before facing 2024 runners-up Mauritania on Tuesday, 1 December, at 15:00. The Hustlers will conclude their group stage matches against Angola on Wednesday, 2 December, at 12:00.
The tournament will feature eight teams divided into two groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals. Malawi will be making their third consecutive appearance at the continental competition, having participated in the 2022 edition in Mozambique and the 2024 tournament in Egypt, where they finished seventh.
The Hustlers qualified for this year’s tournament after defeating Seychelles 16-3 on aggregate, winning the first leg 6-2 away before recording a convincing 10-1 victory in the return fixture at Salima Livingstonia Beach.
The two finalists at the tournament will qualify for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
