Women football throws lifeline to players

The National Women Football Association (NWFA) has handed former and current players a lifeline by considering them to undergo a referee’s course the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) will be conducting starting from April 4.

FAM is targeting to train 100 referees according to NWFA chairperson Siveria Chalira in an interview with Weekend Nation on Thursday.

“This course is strictly for women and preference will go to former and active players. This is one way of giving them a career path. They can take refereeing as a career.

“If it happens that they quit football, they can still be involved in football through refereeing. It is a fact that women football is growing and will continue to grow,” said Chalira.

She said in Blantyre, the course will take place at Chiwembe’s Mpira House and the main facilitators will be Fifa referees instructor Maxwell Ntonga and coordinator Gomezgani Zakazaka.

In Lilongwe the course will take place at the Lilongwe Community Centre ground and the main facilitators will be Fifa referees instructor Verson Lwanja and coordinators are Ellah Banda and Caroline Phiri.

Retired referee Zuza Nyondo will facilitate Northern Region course which will take place at Luwinga Technical Centre.

“Funding for this course is part of the money that Fifa pay to FAM as subvention to women soccer. We have budgeted K2.5 million for the training including meals and other logistics. It is an exciting time for women football as now we will have our own referees. The age limit is from 18 years to 30 years,” said Chalira.

Lwanja said girls and women are taking refereeing seriously.

‘Of course there are women referees, but they are few and we need more since women football is growing. I encourage women to apply in their large numbers to be part of this course,” said Lwanja.

In a related development the FAM Women Football League will start on April 16 according to Chalira. n