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Football Association of Malawi (FAM) says it has started the process of regulating the operations of football academies to combat substandard ones which have been operating freely, there by exposing young football players to potential exploitation, poor training standards and unsafe conditions. According to Fifa regulations on the establishment and operation of football academies, the institutions must be assessed based on productivity rates, training facilities, coaching qualifications, education programmes and welfare provisions for the minor’ aged between nine and 17 years. For an academy to be licensed, it must have appropriate facilities and a functional board comprising a head of education, head of sports science and medicine, head of recruitment and head of academy coaching. This board oversees the appointment of a management team, including the academy manager, operations manager and secretary. Fifa further requires a qualified technical team that includes a development coach, nutritionist, physiotherapist, performance analyst and head of education to ensure both the sporting and personal development of young players are well supported. In 2022, FAM announced it would adhere to the Fifa requirements and start regulating academies, but to date, little has been done. Early this year, it also announced it would commence regulating all academies by May 2025. However, five months later, nothing tangible has been done with business as usual at the so-called academies. But FAM competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka in an interview said they have now started the process. He said: “We started the implementation by holding sessions with academies and sharing them the regulations. We are working with them on familiarisation and understanding. “Just like we did with licensing for clubs, we are taking those steps of moving together in these early stages. There is good response so far from the acadamies.” Zakazaka further said the delays were due to the absence of a technical director. He said the technical director will play a crucial role in regulating the academies. FAM last week announced it had engaged Yvon Avry and Zakazaka said he will take over the process once he reports in office this month. “We will look work on how to enhance the plan and then our colleagues from compliance office will follow with enforcement measures,” he said. Our findings identified over 50 football academies across the country, but just a few of these meet the requirements.
