Chester snubbed as Mabedi gives a “bizarre” explanation

Patrick Mabedi explained the reason for the omission of Yamikani Chester from his final squad ahead of the four-Nation tournament to be hosted in Malawi this month.

Chester was not available for selection at the Cosafa Cup last year and he was not also in the squad for the two opening games of the World Cup Qualifiers.

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Speaking after releasing his final squad on Friday in Blantyre, the former FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and Kaizer Chiefs defender said the scintillating attacker’s style of play doesn’t suit Mabedi’s.

“Our game demands a lot, because you need to manage both transitions, when you have the ball, you need energy, when you don’t have the ball, you need energy.

“If you look at his age, it is a problem for him to sustain that physical ability. So, we are trying to get the players that can fit into that,” he said.

“We need to understand that when I was starting, I wanted to look forward. I want to build a new team, Yamikani Chester [is] a very good player but if you look at his age, he is ageing.

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“This is the problem that we have been having in this country. We need to have balance. A team needs to take us a little bit longer.”

In his squad, Mabedi has named 11 Foreign based players with Gabadinho Mhango returning after a long time.

The Coach has also included three Europe based players in his squad as he wants to assess them before the real matches in the AFCON and World Cup Qualifiers.

Brighton Munthali of Black Leopards, Jubri Okedina of Cambridge United, Dennis Chembezi Denis -Al-Qasim Sporting club, Lloyd Njaliwa – Costal Do Sol, Takondwa Maosa (Brentwood Town FC), Robert Saizi (Zanaco) John Cj Banda (UD Songo), Chawanangwa Kaonga (Zanaco) Chifundo Mphansi (Kabwe Warriors FC), Henry Kumwenda (Butler Men’s Soccer), Gabadinho Mhango (Moroka Swallows) have all been named.

Chester, the former Mighty Mukuru Wanderers and Las Vegas Lights FC attacker, is 29 years old.