Malawi are hunting for a new head coach after announcing that Mario Marinica’s contract will not be renewed.
The Romanian, who initially took over as technical director in November 2021, helped guide The Flames to the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time at last year’s tournament in Cameroon, where they were beaten 2-1 by Morocco.
But a 4-0 defeat to Egypt in Lilongwe in last week’s qualifiers means Malawi have little chance of reaching next year’s Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
A statement released by the Football Association of Malawi announced that “by mutual consent, it has been agreed with Mr Mario Marinica not to enter into negotiations for renewal of his contract when it expires on 30 April 2023.”
It also revealed that the 58-year-old will be “on scheduled annual leave” up until that date and thanked him for “bringing great joy and pride” to Malawi for their historic Afcon run in Cameroon.