South African football coach Sudesh Singh may have been on the technical team of Malawi’s national women’s team, but his contribution to the Scorchers’ historic run at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco ensured that the South African flag was flying high at the continental showpiece.
Malawi returned home as African runners-up after a remarkable debut campaign, reaching the final before losing 3-0 to Cameroon in Rabat on Sunday. Their run also secured a historic place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil after they reached the semi-finals.
For Singh, who joined the Scorchers as technical advisor shortly before the tournament, the achievement was the result of creating a high-performance environment, instilling professionalism and getting everyone aligned behind a common objective.
His appointment was part of the Football Association of Malawi’s decision to strengthen the technical panel ahead of the country’s maiden WAFCON appearance.
Singh says his role was to build the structures and culture needed to give the team the best possible chance of succeeding.
“My position here was as Technical Advisor; to architect a High Performance environment and a culture of professionalism and excellence. I spent about 8-10 days in camp in Malawi before we came to Morocco. Designing and effectively implementing such a structure and framework for everyone to work under usually takes a long time, but despite the obvious challenges of resistance and pushbacks, we still kept on track for the objective of qualifying for the World Cup.”
That objective was achieved in emphatic fashion.
Malawi stunned defending champions Nigeria in the group stage, progressed to the knockout phase and then secured their place in the semi-finals, guaranteeing qualification for the World Cup.
Singh believes alignment within the team was central to the breakthrough.
“Getting everyone aligned to the performance objectives was key. Instilling confidence, professionalism, changing mindsets was challenging, but we were focused on the objective.”
He also introduced the Maximal Training methodology and philosophy, which he says goes beyond what happens on the football pitch.
“Using our Maximal Training (MT) methodology/philosophy, both for on-the-field and off-the-field preparations, was a key factor.”
“As MT isn’t just a ‘training’ methodology but a holistic approach for High Performance and Elite football, as everything in football is interlinked! You can’t achieve success on the field of play if it’s not matched by excellence and professionalism off the field and behind the scenes!”
For Singh, the attention to detail extended to almost every aspect of the team’s daily routine.
“A big part of this planning was around attention to detail; circadian rhythm (body clock), what time we sleep, what time we eat, train, etc., etc.”
“Everything was planned for optimum efficiency, effort recovery, loading, planning training sessions volume/intensity/complexity, and such.”
The tactical approach was also tailored to the strengths of the players available to head coach Lovemore Fazili.
Singh says the team developed a game model designed around Malawi’s attacking strengths while working to improve the defensive structure and organisation.
“We designed a game model based on the strengths of the players, especially the attacking players; whilst trying to work on improving the defensive structure/organisation!”
The Chawinga sisters, Tabitha and Temwa, were central to that approach, alongside two young attackers playing in France and Sweden.
“The players were wonderful in training, although most of the local-based hadn’t been playing as their league hasn’t started.”
“Having two world-class players in the Chawinga sisters was a key part of our game model, plus two young skilful midfielder/attackers who play in France and Sweden.”
Malawi’s run was all the more impressive because this was their first appearance at the continental finals. The Scorchers ultimately fell short of the trophy against Cameroon, but their second-place finish marked a historic breakthrough for Malawian women’s football.
For Singh, however, the significance of the achievement goes beyond Malawi.
He believes the experience has reinforced the need for African football to invest in modern, scientific and context-specific coach education.
“African football needs higher quality level of coach education that’s modern, scientific and bespoke to one’s environment/country/region. It’s very important to have an understanding, insights into local cultures, environments, so as to maximise the impact and talents!”
He also believes the Malawi project demonstrated what can happen when an entire football structure works towards one objective.
“Overall, it’s been a highly successful and enjoyable experience, despite the numerous challenges encountered.”
“But credit to everyone involved in this project, especially the FAM (Football Association of Malawi) President, Fleetwood Haiya, the HOD, Felister Dossi, and FAM support staff.”
And perhaps most importantly, Singh believes Malawi’s achievement offers a lesson for the rest of the continent.
“This project proves that in African football, if there’s a unified approach, with proper planning, then success will be an inevitable outcome.”
For a South African coach, it was also an opportunity to showcase a distinctly South African contribution on one of African football’s biggest stages.
Singh’s work in Morocco did not produce the WAFCON trophy, but it formed part of a technical effort that helped Malawi reach their first continental final and book their place among Africa’s representatives at the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
