Africa-Press – Malawi. Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) has included Malawian attacking midfielders Peter Banda and Robert Ng’ambi on the list of 10 top stars to have played in the Cosafa Under-17 Championship.
The regional football governing body released the list through its website on Wednesday in the build up to the Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Cosafa Zone qualifiers slated for December 2-11 in Lilongwe.
’’The Cosafa men’s Under-17 Championship has seen a number of the region’s top stars pass through the competition over the years, providing the introduction to international football at an early stage. Some have gone on to have stellar careers while others have faded into obscurity, unable to turn their talent into professional careers.
“He enjoyed a successful spell with Stars where he won the MTN 8 and Telkom Knockout cups. He has had an excellent career as a goal-scoring midfielder and it is a surprise to many that he was not snapped up by a big team over the years,’’ reads part of the report.
Ng’ambi earned recognition for finishing as top goal scorer in the 2001 edition of the developmental competition when Malawi winning on home soil. He went on to enjoy a decorated career with Nyasa Big Bullets before earning a move South Africa’s Premier Soccer League where he played for Black Leopards and Platinum Stars.
Ng’ambi is now back in the country having retired from active football. Banda was recognised for scoring five goals for the Junior Flames as they won bronze in 2016.
He played for Nyasa Big Bullets and helped them to win the 2019 TNM Super League title in which he was named Player-of-the-Season. The former Griffin Stars goal poacher then moved to Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova on loan.
’’His switch to leading Tanzanian side Simba SC had allowed him to play on the international stage, and he is already a fixture in the senior national side,’’ Cosafa’s website reports. Banda said he was happy with the recognition. ’’It is an honour for me. I am really humbled,’’ he said.
The list also comprises former Bafana Bafana star Delron Buckley, Zimbabwean Archford Gutu, South African Steve Lekoelea, Zambians Patson Daka, Chisamba Lungu, Lameck Banda, Joseph Banda and Zito Luvumbo from Angola.
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