Fifa Director for Member Associations (Africa) Gelson Fernandes has said Malawi has a responsibility to demonstrate to the world that it has the potential to successfully implement the inclusive football academy at Luwinga Technical Centre in Mzuzu.
Fernandes made the remarks during a media conference at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Wednesday after meeting stakeholders on the project.
He said if the project is successfully implemented in Malawi, Mauritania and Djibouti, Fifa will be motivated to scale it out to more countries.
’’We cannot finance everybody because this is a very expensive venture. Malawi has a lot of responsibilities in demonstrating that this is the right way to go and invest. This can help us to find some financial backup to do the same project in other countries,’’ the former Manchester City and Eintracht Frankfurt defending midfielder said.
He said Malawi has great potential to produce world class players.
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“We believe that the project will have an impact in Malawi. If we were to go to a country where they are used to having many private academies with support from European clubs, the impact would not be the same as in a country like Malawi. Therefore, after scrutinising several factors, it was clear to us that there will be a big impact if Malawi becomes one of the first beneficiaries,’’ Fernandes said.
Football Association of Malawi President Walter Nyamilandu said the project has great capacity to produce quality players.
“We are excited and believe the project will change the landscape of Malawi football. The boys need to be given an opportunity to play football in a professional setup,’’ Nyamilandu said.
Apart from drilling young players on football techniques, the pilot project will train them in preparing for life after football.
