Inkosi ya Makhosi M’mbelwa V on Sunday unveiled a K50 million football tournament for the Malawi Northern Region Football Association (NRFA) at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, Central Region.
The tournament, dubbed the Jere Ngoni Paramount Chief Tournament, is aimed at providing young people in the Northern Region with a platform to showcase their football talent.
M’mbelwa V said the initiative would help develop football in the North and urged the NRFA to manage the sponsorship professionally.
“This tournament will provide youths in the North a platform to showcase their talents,” he said, as quoted by the Nation. He also called on the football association to manage sponsorship funds professionally and urged other sponsors to invest in football development in the region.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Fleetwood Haiya commended M’mbelwa V for investing in youth through football, saying the sport could be used to empower young people and unearth talent.
NRFA chairperson Masiya Nyasulu also welcomed the investment. He said the region has a strong pool of football talent that needs support to reach national and international levels.
However, the tournament was launched just a day after a FAM technical panel led by Malawi national football team coach Kalisto Pasuwa snubbed the Northern Region in his Flames selection.
Not a single player from a Northern Region club was selected for national duty, including players from top-flight sides Chitipa United and Moyale Barracks.
In contrast, Ekhaya FC, a club sitting just five points above the relegation zone, contributed a significant number of players to the national team.
