For the past three weeks, Malawians rallied behind the country’s national football team as it participated in the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Cameroon.

The Flames’ exploits and qualification into the knockout stages for the first time in the country’s history thrilled many people, and as the team bowed out of the competition on Tuesday night with a 1-2 loss against Morocco, many Malawians took to social media with their reactions.

Many artists in the creative industry also joined the national discourse by offering support, tributes and pieces of advice to the team as it embarks on future assignments.

Banda: We are proud of the team

Rapper Hyphen wrote 

 Tough luck Ma Flames. You have brought a positive light to our nation with your performance. History has been made. We know it’s possible, so we won’t expect anything less.”

Poet and storyteller Yangairo Yangairo urged

 Malawians to sustain the love and support that they showered on the team at the tournament and called upon football stakeholders to step up the sport’s commercialisation drive.

He said: “We need to commercialise our football to get our players motivated. We need to put real money in the sport. We need to be vigilant in managing the resources we make. We need to support the TVs that are passionate about airing the games. That way, we will show the world that we are a small country with a big heart.”

Local music legend Lucius Banda posted: “We are very proud of you boys. You deserve a hero’s welcome.”

Gospel artist Thoko Katimba echoed Banda’s sentiments, adding that the future looks good for our team.

But videographer Sam Mwakanema wondered why support for the Flames only comes during the tournament. “We can’t go far with that approach,” he said.

The team went to Cameroun as underdogs, but survived the group stages

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