Flames players’ passports have gone missing after one of the officials forgot them in a taxi in Bamako, Mali on Monday.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka has confirmed the development, saying the police in Dakar have intensified search for the taxi.

However, he said the missing passports will not affect the Flames should they still not be found by kick-off time of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group L qualifier against Burkina Faso this eveniReportng.

Article 39.2 of the competition’s rules on qualification of players, reads in part: “If a travelling team loses the passports of one or many of its players, the team is authorised to field the concerned player or players provided that each one of them takes photographs with the match commissioner or the referee before the match.

“These photographs shall be given to the referee, who shall send them to CAF secretariat together with a report.”

(Reported by Garry Chirwa)