The Football Association of Malawi has urged football Coaches to embrace technology by mastering the use of computers and advanced coaching software packages if they are to cope with modern football.
FAM President Walter Nyamilandu Manda said this on Tuesday when he opened a CAF C Coaching Course at Mpira Village in Blantyre.
He said: “The world is now changing and almost everything is going digital, and the use of computers is now mandatory in coaching. We understand some of the coaches are not familiar with the use of computer packages so this is a challenge to them to learn computer usage and we will support them.”
He then advised the coaches to be professional saying those with bad behavior are killing the game in the country.
“We realize that the Coaches are the destiny in as far as football is concerned because they are the ones that mold the football stars that we see out there and this course will give them all the necessary expertise to do their job well. However, we have seen great leaders fall because of discipline issues like drinking with players yet they are expected to be role models to players.
“Some go to the extent of demanding money from players if they want to be included in a travelling squad for games or in the first 11. This is killing our game because players are not selected on merit which in turn brings negative results. As an association, we want the coaches to give players room to grow and be future stars and not lose them,” he said.
In his remarks, FAM Executive Member and Chairperson of the Technical Subcommittee Tiya Somba Banda urged the coaches to work hard and earn their certificates on merit.
“We want our Coaches to produce results when they go back, and this will be possible if they all understand and make use of what they have been taught here. We don’t want to have people who have certificates just for the sake of it so, only those who will work hard, and pass will be given certificates,” he said.
The National Coaches Association Chairperson Aubrey Nankhuni hailed FAM for the course saying this will increase the number of qualified coaches in the country thereby helping in football development.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Ntopwa FC owner and coach Isaac Jomo Osman said the course will enhance their football coaching skills.
“We have always been passionate about the game, but we know that sometimes we fail to deliver results because of how we conduct our sessions since we had no knowledge. Being in this class, we expect to learn more and improve our teams’ performances when we get back to our clubs. So we are grateful to FAM for this opportunity,” he said.
About 30 coaches from across the country are taking part in the 16-day course which will include both theory and practical sessions.
