Flashback of previous festival played at Kamuzu Stadium
* In its 3rd edition, the day-long event will pools four U-15 teams each for girls and boys’ sections, drawn from Mzuzu and Mzimba North and celebrated under the theme, ‘Protect Your Goal, Say NO to Drugs’
By Duncan Mlanjira
In collaboration with Malawi Schools Sports Association (MASSA), the 2025 Malawi Grassroots Soccer Festival is all set to shape the future of the country’s football on Saturday when eight primary school teams will showcase their talent at Mzuzu Stadium.
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In its 3rd edition, the day-long event will pools four U-15 teams each for girls and boys’ sections, drawn from Mzuzu and Mzimba North and celebrated under the theme, ‘Protect Your Goal, Say NO to Drugs’.
The participating teams are Zombwe, Kaviwale, Ching’ambo and Chibavi from Chibavi are for girls and St Michael (Ekwendeni, Mzimba North), Ekwendeni CCAP (Mzimba North), Katoto and St. Augustine (both from Mzuzu City.
Organised by Malawi Grassroots Soccer Development Foundation (MGSDF), the tournament is being sponsored by Malawi Gaming & Lotteries Authority (MAGLA), Vortnet Ltd and Soccer Westwood.
Malawi Grassroots Soccer Development Foundation was founded by Canada-based Malawian football administrator, Willy Yabanya Phiri, alongside a team of seasoned football development enthusiasts — drawn from diverse backgrounds but united at the umbilical cord of passion for the game.
Willy Yabanya Phiri
Yabwanya Phiri, who is former sponsor for TNM Super League side, Karonga United, says apart from football, the event will provide girls and boys a platform to learn social skills — thus the theme; ‘Protect Your Goal, Say NO to Drugs’.
He maintains that the festival focuses on under-15 boys and girls, using football as a vehicle for their empowerment while the long term objective of the Foundation “is to be the focal point of grassroots football development in Malawi”.
“It is also to contribute to the grooming of talent for the country’s national teams and elite clubs in Europe within the next 10 years,” he said. “We also need to create a career pathway for players, and that is why we are also registered in Canada to align ourselves with academies that can have interest in our talent.”
MGSDF is a non-profit making organisation duly registered in Malawi and Canada, whose objectives include giving primary school children, including the marginalised, a platform to showcase their football skills and using football to combat child labour, drug & substance abuse, teen-age marriages, HIV/Aids & STI, school-dropout, violence and exploitation.
It also aims at developing technical and entrepreneurial skills and capacity-building as well as creating stakeholder partnerships and collaborations — taking cognizance that Malawi’s football focus has always been on established structures of junior football, second tier leagues and the elite Super League, leaving out the grassroots primary school level.
Thus Yabwanya Phiri and his fellow founders decided to take the path less trodden and to include the marginalised children such as the physically challenged and mentally challenged children.
“MGSDF is here to complement football development efforts of the Ministry of Sports, Malawi National Council of Sports, Football Association of Malawi (FAM), MASSA, National Coaches Association, National Referees Association, regional leagues and the Super League of Malawi (SULOM),” says the founder.
“The Foundation works to fill gaps; forge strategic partnerships with local and international stakeholders; impart football knowledge and life skills on the boy and girl child — thereby ensuring the development of the entire human being through life and survival skills using education and sports as the vehicle.”
He profoundly thanks the sponsors, Malawi Gaming & Lotteries Authority, Vortnet Ltd and Soccer Westwood and urged other companies and individuals interested in partnering with the festival to contact MGSDF via Donnex Chilonga through; +265 0999 371 020 or to visit our website: www.grassrootssoccermw.com for more information.
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