Football Association of Malawi (FAM) President Walter Nyamilandu says the launch of the FIFA Women’s Football Campaign across the country is a stepping stone towards forming a very strong Women’s national team in the country.
Nyamilandu made the remarks when the campaign was officially launched in Blantyre, a week after it was launched in Lilongwe and Mzuzu, respectively.
Nyamilandu said the launch will ensure a smooth operation in the under 14 and 16 women’s leagues, which will be launched next month.
“It’s the beginning of us starting our under 14 and 16 leagues which we are launching next month and we have decided to start the process now of mobilizing girls that have potential to play football and just to publicize the importance of girls football.
“We are looking forward to massive participation from girls from under 14 and 16 leagues which will form a string foundation for the Scochers,” he said.
The FA boss also revealed that Kawinga Technical Center in Mzuzu which will be one of the places for the soon to be established FIFA Academy, will also host Women’s footballers.
“Everything we do at FAM, we always include the girls, and they will be part and parcel of this academy which FIFA has announced in partnership with AFT. One of the components in the academy is the gender equality so as we rolling out next year, be assured that girls will also form part of the academy because the only way that we can progress with football in Africa and around the world is produce quality talent and the only way to have these talents is through these academies so the process we are starting now will help us to identify the ideal talent.
“We are rolling out TDS in the South and will start very soon in the North and all the catchment area to identify young boys and girls that can grow in the game through the academies,” he added.
Nyamilandu also indicated that the process will not only target players but all key stakeholders, including referees and coaches, to get the best out of them.
“We are also coming up with programs with coaches, grooming young coaches through TDS, grooming young referees through the TDS. So the TDS is not about the players but we are identifying potential young referees and coaches so that we can groom them because we have challenge with the number and capacity of coaches and referees to try to build something from them,” he said.
On her part, Chairperson for the National Women’s Committee Adelaide Migogo said her committee is ready to handle the upcoming leagues.
“We are actually more prepared than expected. This is just a taste of how we are going to handle the upcoming leagues. The leagues will start from the districts to the regions and then on the national level. We are looking forward to having very successful leagues,” she explained.
The campaign involved six teams with a total number of 10 players aged between 11-14 per team at each center. The teams played six-aside matches.
The teams that participated in the campaign were Ascent Academy, TC 11 FC, Hungry Lions, Chilinde Queens, Kamuzu Institute and Mpira Mmudzi Mwathu in the Central Region as well as Mk Academy, Gafu Sisters, Bico Optical FC, Hardknockers FC, Topik Sisters and Geisha Academy from the Northern Region, The first Girls Club, Bedir High School, Ntopwa, Blasco, Green Birds and Eastern Elephant from the South.
Women’s football is currently a top priority for FIFA and the aim of the FIFA Women’s Football Campaign is to promote player participation and development across the World through the organization of a one-day promotional tournament where fun is the priority and the game of football is its teacher.
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