FAM lands Uefa technical support
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has entered into a technical and material support agreement with the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa).
FAM president Walter Nyamilandu disclosed the development when he launched the Central Region district leagues in Salima on Saturday.
In an interview yesterday, the FAM president said the agreement was signed in July.
He said: “The support will be in two components. The first one will involve funding and it will be done through the English FA which has provided 17 500 pounds [about K21 million] towards football equipment and we intend to purchase 750 balls to contribute towards football development in districts and youth football.”
Nyamilandu said the second part of the agreement is directly from Uefa.
He said: “This will see us benefit technical and material support. The material support will include a donation of a mini van which will be a utility vehicle for the office.
“The second part is technical support towards what they call Football for Women and the last one is Leadership Support towards strategic planning and corporate governance in football.”
Nyamilandu said the FA support is one-off while the one from Uefa will be annual.
“This means that next year, we will be able to apply for more programmes,” he said.
During the launch of the district leagues, the FAM president said the association was aware of the challenges the districts face in the development of the game, especially equipment.
He said: “Football cannot develop without equipment and that is why we are approaching international associations such as Uefa for technical and material assistance.
“I am impressed with the talent from the rural areas that I have seen today and we will be devising a network of scouts to identify top talent across the country.”
On his part, Central Region Football Association chairperson Austin Ajawa said the leagues will help identify and develop hidden talent in the districts.
“The importance of the district leagues can, therefore, not be overemphasised. We are also glad that FAM has secured technical support that will greatly help the cause,” he said.
