Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has announced plans to allocate K1.2 billion towards youth football development initiatives.
It says the funds would help advance the young talent scouting cause.
Fam Second Vice President Lameck Khonje said this at the end of the FCB Under-20 Katswiri National Rough Diamonds 2024 at Luwinga Technical Development Centre in Mzuzu City on Saturday.
Khonje said the league had produced a lot of players for national teams at various levels.
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He said it had also produced players for Super League teams.
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As such, Khonje said Fam had budgeted for K1.2 billion to help in youth football development.
He said this would be done by empowering teams of players aged between 17 and 20 years to join international competitions.
He said the budget would also help the country groom young referees and coaches to master skills and knowledge at a tender age.
“Let me congratulate the National Youth Football Association (NYFA) for organising the tournament and also our trusted sponsor, FCB, because what the youth have showcased today is in line with our vision of transforming the game. Our vision is to make sure that youths are active and being supported so that they feed our national teams.
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“One of the initiatives to make sure that the youth get the most needed support is that, through the vision of our president Fleetwood Haiya, we will factor in K1.2 billion in our next budget so that it helps in youth football development at all levels,” Khonje said.
NYFA Chairperson Tiyenkhu Chavura said the tournament had achieved its goals as young players had been exposed to coaches from different teams.
“We have observed that coaches have developed interest in the young players and this is what we wanted; to produce talent so that coaches can scout them and nurture them,” Chavura said.
FCB Head of Marketing Twikale Chirwa said they would continue sponsoring the tournament, saying it was helping nurture football in the country.
“We are happy with progress of the players,” Chirwa said after the firm pumped in K58 million this year.
North Select emerged champions of the two-day tournament, which was played using round robin format. The side finished with seven points, seconded by South Select with five points while Central Select 1 finished third with four points.
North Select Coach Mphatso Chihami attributed the victory to team work.
“We, as a team, were determined to win,” Chihami said.
