Fifa president visits Malawi tomorrow
Fifa president Gianni Infantino is scheduled to visit the country for the first time tomorrow to inspect some football development projects 22 years after his predecessor Joseph Sepp Blatter’s tour.
This follows a request made by Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Fleetwood Haiya when he met the world football governing body’s leader in Saudi Arabia last December, barely days after his election.
Haiya confirmed Infantino’s visit in an interview yesterday.
He said: “If you may recall, in December last year when I got elected, I was invited to meet him [Infantino] in Saudi Arabia, where among others, I requested him to visit Malawi.
“I can confirm that the Fifa president has responded favourably and he is visiting us for the first time on June 11.”
However, the association was yet to provide more details on the visit yesterday.
But The Nation has established that FAM had requested the Ministry of Youth and Sports, through Malawi National Council of Sports, to facilitate a meeting between President Lazarus Chakwera and Infantino.
Ministry of Youth and Sports spokesperson Macmillan Mwale confirmed FAM’s request in an interview last week.
He said: “We have taken up the matter with the relevant authorities and we are
waiting for feedback.”
However, presidential press secretary Anthony Kasunda said in an interview at the weekend: “The President will not be around during that period.”
In November 2019, Infantino was also expected to visit the country,but the trip was cancelled at the eleventh hour reportedly because his plane could not land at the then partially closed Chileka International Airport in Blantyre due to safety reasons.
Soon after news of the failed visit filtered in, rumours made rounds that Infantino had a change of heart after being alerted that his visit would be construed as endorsing the then FAM president Walter Nyamilandu, who was seeking a fifth term.
But Fifa spokesperson Alois Hug, in an e-mail response, dispelled the assertions.
“The reasons are linked with unforeseen last-minute issues related with the airport in Chileka and the plane that the delegation wastravelling on,” he said.
Hug further apologised for the inconvenience caused by the failed trip.
After the Saudi Arabia meeting, Infantino was quoted by fifa.com as having said:“It was a great pleasure to meet the new Football Association ofMalawi president Fleetwood Haiya and listen to his very detailed andfar-reaching plans for developing football his country.
“We talked about the importance of good infrastructure for football development and the role that football can play in education. Malawiis a country with a huge football potential and, with the support of the Fifa Forward development programme and the increased opportunities for member associations to participate in global competitions, I believe that together we can put Malawian football in the spotlight.”
