* Donates footballs to support Malawi’s grassroots football development through Project for Sports Diplomacy Enhancement under Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* This gesture serves not only to support football development in Malawi, but also as a symbol of friendship between people of Japan and Malawi
By Duncan Mlanjira
The Government of Japan, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‘Project for Sports Diplomacy Enhancement’, has donated 36 footballs to Football Association of Malawi (FAM) to support the country’s grassroots football development.
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Speaking at the handover event held at his residence in Lilongwe, Ambassador Naito Yasushi emphasised that the gesture “serves not only to support football development in Malawi, but also as a symbol of friendship between people of Japan and Malawi”.
He highlighted Malawi is the largest recipient of volunteers through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) — that country’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is one of the world’s largest bilateral aid agencies.
JICA supports socio-economic development, peacebuilding, and disaster recovery in developing countries through technical cooperation, grants, and concessional loans volunteers and Ambassador Naito highlighted that this year marks 55 years since the Agency commenced dispatching volunteers to Malawi.
In its support to Malawi football, Naito cited a recent example of Japanese coach, Kosuke Shimabukuro, who was dispatched as a JICA volunteer to FAM between 2023 to 2025, particularly in providing guidance and support to the elite women football players.
When Mighty Wanderers was being sponsored by BE FORWARD — the leading cross-border e-commerce platform which is the largest exporter of Japanese used cars in the world, another volunteer, Genki Nakamura, a Japanese J-League player, played for the Nomads in the top flight Super League.
In exchange, former Mighty Wanderers’ international, Jabulani Linje signed for a J-League club, Tokyo Shibuya City FC some eight years ago, and went on to join Japan’s youth training programme to share his football expertise and inspire the next generation ranging from kindergarten to middle school.
Thus Ambassador Naito said: “There have been remarkable exchanges between Japan and Malawi through football. Although Malawi and Japan are geographically distant, our common passion for football is shared through human bonds through these football exchanges.
He added that the Japan FA “is grateful for the past collaboration with FAM and remains committed to strengthening this partnership” and that the support of footballs also symbolises the Japan FA’s “willingness to further deepening the friendship between our two nations through footballs”.
He further expressed his country’s “deepest gratitude” to the Malawi Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation’s, Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture for the bilateral friendship between the two nations to continue flourish.
“I wish the people of Malawi, particularly the sports fraternity, continued success and growth,” he said and in his vote of thanks, FAM president, Fleetwood Haiya maintained that the support will strengthen grassroots development programmes and help nurture future football talent across the country.
“As FAM, we deeply appreciate Japan’s continued commitment to football development in Malawi,” he said. “Beyond this donation, we look forward to expanding our partnership through exchange programmes, including opportunities for the Flames and Scorchers to play international friendlies against Japanese national teams to gain valuable exposure and experience.
“We also hope to see internship opportunities for our technical and secretariat staff in Japan, allowing them to learn from one of the world’s leading football systems. Together, we will continue building bridges of friendship, developing football and transforming the game,” he said.—info from official Facebook accounts of Japanese Embassy and FAM Media
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