FAM engages stakeholders on new strategicplan
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has embarked on strategic plan validation meetings aimed at appraising its affiliates and other stakeholders on the progress made in formulating its new 10-year blue print.
The first meeting held in Blantyre on Saturday drew affiliates from Super League of Malawi (Sulom), Southern Region Football Association (SRFA), Southern Region men’s and women’s football clubs, National Women’s Football Association, National Youth Football Association, National Football Coaches Association and Beach Soccer.
In his contribution, Ntopwa Queens owner Isaac Jomo Osman said FAM should ensure that the strategic plan empowers women’s football.
He said: “The strategic plan must deliberately empower women’s football to free it from FAM’s grip.
“For a very long time women’s football has been under FAM’s control when we have a full association entrusted with running the sport.”
Osman said women’s football has proved that it is capable of achieving more at international level despite getting meagre resources from FAM.
He said: “Even with the little resources, the Scorchers managed to win the 2023 Cosafa Women’s Championship in South Africa.
“Women’s football has also produced top-class players such as Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga.”
Mighty Mukuru Wanderers chief executive officer Panganeni Ndovi said FAM should include other variants of football in the strategic plan.
He said: “FAM should consider other variants of football. For example, futsal is a fast growing variant of association football, but I haven’t seen any plans for such emerging variants of football in the strategic plan.
“This means for the next 10 years, FAM will lose out on any new forms of football while other countries are embracing them.”
FCB Nyasa Bullets chief administration officer Albert Chigoga noted that the blueprint lacked key performance indicators [KPIs].
He said: “I haven’t seen KPIs in the document. This will make it very difficult to evaluate it when time comes to do so.”
On her part, Sulom chief executive officer Faith Mzungu-Vilakati said there was need for constant monitoring and evaluation of the strategic plan since it is a long-term plan.
She said: “It’s a beautiful document which covers most of the things that we asked FAM to incorporate, but it will be useless if it is not properly implemented like most other strategic plans.”
Malawi National Council of Sports director of marketing, planning and infrastructure development Limbani Matola commended FAM for coming up with a strategic plan, but said affiliates also have to be tied to the KPIs.
He said: “The strategic plan must trickle down to each affiliate. Government has often expressed concern that most sports associations do not have strategic plans. Each affiliate must have its strategic plan which is tied to FAM’s strategic plan KPIs.”
In his contribution, SRFA chairperson Raphael Humba thanked FAM for involving the affiliates in formulating the strategic plan.
He, however, asked the association to give the affiliates more time to scrutinise the document.
FAM second vice-president Lameck Zetu Khonje, who chaired the meeting, said they decided to engage the stakeholders to get feedback on the draft strategic plan.
“The Southern Region meeting was very successful. The feedback we got from the stakeholders is valuable. We will hold similar meetings in Lilongwe and Mzuzu,” he said.
