Malawi v Zimbabwe: Sporting rivalries from the past

Malawi and Zimbabwe are separated by a thin strip of Mozambique, and a lot of history. Players, coaches and supporters move between the two countries, so when the Flames meet the Warriors, or the Queens meet the Gems, both sides know each other well. For anyone who follows these meetings on a sports betting page, here are the fixtures that shaped the rivalry, in football and in netball.

Malawi’s best chance of a first COSAFA Cup came in 2003, and Zimbabwe ended it. The final was played over two legs. About 60,000 people filled the ground in Blantyre on 27 September, but Albert Mbano scored for the visitors in the seventh minute and Zvenyika Makonese added a second just before the hour. Russell Mwafulirwa pulled one back seven minutes from time, which left Malawi needing a win in Harare.

It never came. Charles Yohane and Peter Ndlovu scored in a 2-0 win on 5 October, and Zimbabwe took the trophy 4-1 on aggregate. Malawi had lost the previous year’s final to South Africa, so two finals in a row ended in defeat. Zimbabwe went on to become the most successful side in the history of the tournament.

The two sides met again in the 2013 COSAFA Cup quarter-finals, in Kitwe, Zambia. Masimba Mambare gave Zimbabwe an early lead and Malawi lost James Sangala to a second yellow card before half time. The Flames kept going with ten men, and Boniface Kaulesi equalised in the 85th minute. Zimbabwe won the shootout 3-1, with Ocean Mushure scoring the winning kick.

The Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers gave the rivalry a bigger stage. In June 2015 the Warriors came to Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre for a 2017 qualifier, after a nine-hour journey by road. The squad had refused to fly until their appearance fees were paid. Cuthbert Malajila scored first, John Banda equalised for Malawi, and Khama Billiat scored the winner seven minutes from time.

Malawi’s turn came on the biggest stage of all. On 14 January 2022, the two sides met in Group B of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations at the Stade de Kouekong in Bafoussam, Cameroon. Ishmael Wadi put Zimbabwe ahead, but Gabadinho Mhango scored in each half to win it 2-1.

Mhango became the first Malawian to score twice in a single Africa Cup of Nations match. The three points helped Malawi reach the knockout rounds for the first time in their history. Zimbabwe went out in the group stage.

The meeting at the 2021 COSAFA Cup in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, was just as lively. Khuda Muyaba and Schumacher Kuwali put Malawi 2-0 up, then Zimbabwe fought back to draw 2-2.

On the netball court, the rivalry looks different. Malawi’s Queens have been one of Africa’s leading sides for years, and for a long time Zimbabwe’s Gems struggled to keep up.

The first meeting of the two at a World Cup came in Liverpool in July 2019, at Zimbabwe’s first World Cup. Malawi won 59-43. In June 2022, at the COSANA Tri-Nations tournament in Blantyre, the Queens won 46-23, even without their overseas stars Mwawi Kumwenda and Joyce Mvula.

The balance has shifted since then. Zimbabwe beat Malawi 48-42 in the Africa Netball Cup third-place match in Namibia in 2024. They won again, 48-44, in the same match in Lilongwe in December 2025, in front of a home crowd. It was the Queens’ fourth defeat in five games against the Gems, and it came against a side ranked below them in the world.

In football, Zimbabwe won most of the early big games, but Malawi won the one that meant the most, in Cameroon. In netball, Malawi were on top for years before Zimbabwe caught up. Neither nation has been in charge of this rivalry for long, and that is why every meeting still matters to supporters on both sides of the border.