Sports analyst Christopher Njeula has urged football stakeholders to adopt a pragmatic, well-structured, and action-oriented approach to grassroots football development, saying this is key to realising Malawi’s player export strategy.
Njeula made the remarks as organisations such as the Malawi Grassroots Soccer Development Foundation (MGSDF) and the Malawi Schools Sports Association (MASSA) announced that they have intensified efforts to identify football talent among boys and girls aged 15 and below through a tournament.
According to MGSDF Founder Willy Yabwanya Phiri, the third edition of the Malawi Soccer Festival will take place at Mzuzu Stadium on 6 December 2025, sponsored by the Malawi Gaming and Lotteries Authority and Vornet, with eight teams from Mzuzu and Mzimba competing.
Phiri said their long-term objective has always been to export players to elite clubs in Europe in the next 10 years.
“We also need to create a career pathway for players and that is why we (MGSDF) are also registered in Canada to align ourselves with academies that can have interest in our talent,” Phiri said.
But Njeula said events alone cannot contribute to such.
“Player export strategy is a key pillar in football transformation. However, it cannot be achieved as an event; it is rather a process. Given the current status of our grassroots structures, it is not outright that we may achieve a desired threshold within a space of a year,” Njeula said.
In July this year, FDH Bank unveiled a K360 million 3-year sponsorship deal but for secondary school football, together with the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and MASSA to promote grassroots football.
FAM President, Fleetwood Haiya, said they are building the foundation for a brighter football future for Malawi.
“At FAM, we believe that a player must be wholesomely developed, both academically and on the pitch,” Haiya said.
