South African coach Sudesh Singh helps Malawi make history in Morocco

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.”

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.”