Malawi Sports Minister Moses Dossi has described the country announcement to bid for the 2006 Nations Cup finals as "wishful thinking".

Dossi said the FA rushed to announce its intentions when the country is wholly ill-prepared.

Three weeks ago, Malawi's football boss John Zingale said the country was bidding to host the 2006 Nations Cup finals.

Malawi's sports facilities are relatively poor and would need a major upgrade.

The minister said with a shortage of drugs in government hospitals and some areas of the country going hungry there were more important priorities than football.

Weakest bid

"It's better such money is used to buy maize to save the starving nation than on football," the minister said.

Mali, one of Africa's poorest country's spent upwards of a hundred million dollars to stage the 2002 Nations Cup, much of which is yet to be paid back.

Minister Dossi called on football authorities to concentrate on upgrading the present infrastructure, and perhaps look at bidding for the 2008 finals.

Dossi may be mindful of the bid that Malawi submitted for the 2004 Nations Cup.

Tunisia won the right to hold the tournament, while Malawi's bid was considered the weakest of all those examined by Caf.

The deadline for bids for the 2006 Nations Cup is 31st March.