Grassroots football targets 1,000 youngsters
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has said its Fifa-funded grassroots football project has the potential to unearth over 1,000 youngsters annually.
Fam Technical Director John Kaputa said the project, which came to Malawi in 2010, is being implemented in all of the country’s 28 districts.
Kaputa said it mainly targets school going children aged between 6 and 12 years.
“Before the project commences every year, we hold a festival whereby all schools in a particular district send pupils aged 12 and below to undergo a football clinic. Normally, the exercise attracts over 200 kids from whom we select the best 40 to undergo special training at grassroots level.
“This means each district contributes its top 40 players. This translates to over 1,000 young players. We have teams in the competition from all the districts and during this phase, we have managed to monitor the exercise in most districts except Mwanza and Neno. So far we are impressed with what is happening because most kids are eager to learn the sport and improve their skills,” Kaputa said.
He said the project was already bearing fruits as three of its players were part of the Malawi under-17 national football team that participated in the Cosafa Under-17 Championship in Mauritius last year.
“The plan is to unearth more youngsters so that they should graduate and compete in Fifa/Fam junior leagues,” Kaputa said.
