Mponda urges FAM to lay structures

Former Flames skipper Peter ‘Mjojo’ Mponda has said he is amazed with the level of talent in the districts and has urged FAM to lay structures in an attempt to unearth hidden talent.

Mponda, who is technical director for Surestream Academy, said this after completing a scouting mission in the North and Central regions, which he described as fruitful.

“The adventure in the Central and Northern regions was an eye-opener. It gave us [Surestream] plenty of food for thought,” said Mponda.

He said the scouting trip that took them to Karonga, Mzuzu and Nkhata Bay in the North and Kasungu, Lilongwe and Dedza in the Centre, helped them recruit promising talent in Under-14 and Under-17 age groups.

He cited Mayeso Mdazepa (Dedza), Innocent Mwambo (Kasungu) and Nice Duncan (Karonga) as having been outstanding.

“And then there are two chaps from Lilongwe, their skills are just amazing as well,” he said.

“We already identified players in Blantyre and surrounding areas and we are having a trial tournament on Wednesday that will involve three teams—one from within Blantyre and the other one from Machinga,” said Mponda.

He also said there are plans to have a similar exercise in the Lower Shire.

The academy’s coaches Patricio Kulemeka and Sherry Msuku also said they were happy with the progress of the scouting drive.

FAM president Walter Nyamilandu said plans to set up structures in the districts are already underway.

“That will be one of the new TD’s [John Kaputa] tasks, that is already in the pipeline,” said Nyamilandu.