Malawi national team coach, Romanian Mario Marinica, revealed a new scandal at the Africa Cup of Nations currently taking place in Cameroon, pointing out bias from the African Union (CAF) in dealing with the participating teams. Marinica expressed his shock at the living conditions in Cameroon during the African Cup finals, stating that the players of the Malawi team are forced to wash their clothes by themselves.
At a press conference before their match against Morocco on Tuesday in the Round of 16, he said, "We are treated as second-class citizens; I couldn't find milk for my coffee, we have not found enough food, and we cannot access the washing machine to clean our clothes, so we have to wash our clothes by hand. Have you seen Sadio Mané (the star of the Senegal national team) washing his underwear and hanging it on a tree?”
The coach also mentioned that he had to file a complaint to the head of the Malawi national team delegation due to the difficult living conditions at one of the hotels in the city of Bafoussam, highlighting, "I asked my colleagues and team leaders to submit a formal complaint. I complained to the head of the delegation and hotel officials; we struggled for three days to resolve the issues.”
Despite the challenging conditions, the Romanian coach noted that his players fought hard in the first round in Group B, managing to earn 4 points, finishing third, and qualifying for the next round. The current edition of the Africa Cup of Nations has seen many organizational problems, the latest being the death of eight fans before the match between Cameroon and Comoros on Monday.
