{"id":75280,"date":"2025-12-07T10:12:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T10:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future"},"modified":"2025-12-07T10:22:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T10:22:26","slug":"grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future","title":{"rendered":"Grassroots Soccer Seen as Key to Malawi\u2019s Football Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>Football enthusiasts have hailed grassroots soccer as the foundation for building a strong and competitive footballing nation as Malawi intensifies efforts to nurture talent from a young age.<\/p>\n

Board Chairperson for the Malawi Grassroots Soccer Development Foundation (MGSDF), Lovemore Chikopa, said children under the age of 15 must be carefully guided and protected as they balance education with their football ambitions.<\/p>\n

Chikopa made the remarks on Saturday at Mzuzu Stadium during the 2025 Malawi Grassroots Soccer Festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to make sure that our children are playing their football in a safe environment. The earlier we train them to say no to drugs, the more we build excellent future footballers for our nation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Speaking on behalf of the Football Association of Malawi (FAM), Northern Region Football Association (NRFA) Chairperson, Masiya Nyasulu, expressed satisfaction that the festival had reached Mzuzu for its third edition after previous editions were held in Lilongwe and Blantyre.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited to see the great football talent among these children, and we cherish initiatives like this which, in the long run, will help strengthen our national teams,\u201d said Nyasulu.<\/p>\n

Mzuzu City Malawi Schools Sports Association (MASSA) Chairperson, Wongani Nyasulu, said grassroots soccer plays a critical role in identifying talent for various competitions across the country.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s festival was sponsored by the Malawi Gaming and Lotteries Authority (MAGLA), Soccer West and Vortnet Limited. Vortnet Director, Victoria Singini, praised the performances by the children but called for greater support for girls\u2019 football.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to do more for girls\u2019 football. I have seen some girls playing without boots. I would like to appeal to other partners to come in with funds to support girls\u2019 football,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In the girls\u2019 final, Kaviwale Primary School from Mzuzu City defeated Zombwe Primary School from Mzimba North 2\u20130, with goals from Maggie Mpumira and Grace Manda.<\/p>\n

In the boys\u2019 category, Katoto Primary School were crowned champions after a 2\u20130 victory over St Augustine Primary School, with goals scored by Chancy Kuwali and Moses Hara.<\/p>\n

The event was spiced with entertainment from Shama Vocals, while St John of God Hospitaller Services, through Charles Botha, conducted drug abuse awareness talks for the Under-15 players.<\/p>\n

The 2025 festival was held under the fitting theme: \u201cProtect Your Goal, Say No to Drugs.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Malawi<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. Football enthusiasts have hailed grassroots soccer as the foundation for building a strong and competitive footballing nation as Malawi intensifies efforts to nurture talent from a young age. Board Chairperson for the Malawi Grassroots Soccer Development Foundation (MGSDF), Lovemore Chikopa, said children under the age of 15 must be carefully guided and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":75279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-75280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"\nGrassroots Soccer Seen as Key to Malawi\u2019s Football Future - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Football enthusiasts have hailed grassroots soccer as the foundation for building a strong and competitive footballing n ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grassroots Soccer Seen as Key to Malawi\u2019s Football Future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Football enthusiasts have hailed grassroots soccer as the foundation for building a strong and competitive footballing n ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-07T10:12:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-07T10:22:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2025\/12\/sm_1765102919.339619.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1040\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"468\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Grassroots Soccer Seen as Key to Malawi\u2019s Football Future\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-07T10:12:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-07T10:22:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future\"},\"wordCount\":398,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2025\/12\/sm_1765102919.339619.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Malawi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/grassroots-soccer-seen-as-key-to-malawis-football-future\",\"name\":\"Grassroots Soccer Seen as Key to Malawi\u2019s Football Future - 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