Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has stepped the women football grass roots development campaign.

FAM technical director John Kaputa said the programme is crucial at helping develop players who will be key to the future national team.

He was speaking in Zomba last weekend when he distributed assorted sports items from Fifa to schools in Chikala Education Zone in the area of Senior Chief Chikowi.

He said identifying and developing talent, especially for girls between 6 and12 years will provide them a platform to display their skills which would be crucial at various stages of the junior and senior national teams.

“Grassroots football faced a lot of challenges due to lack of sports equipment. But with the material and technical support from Fifa, we have been able to train coaches in grass roots football across the country.

“This will now enable us to introduce sports festivals where the coaches will spot the potential talented players for team selection,” he said.

He added that at present, there has been a positive response from girls in grass roots football; hence, the intensity of the sport in primary schools.

Speaking during the ceremony, the zone’s primary education advisor (PEA) Hamilton Saiti hailed Fifa and FAM for supporting grass roots football in his area.

“This will surely improve the skills of the young girls in various primary schools in my zone. We had problems with lack of equipment but now we

cannot complain. We will make sure that the equipment is used for the intended purpose,” Saiti said.

Among the items distributed were 80 footballs, 300 Fifa-branded T-shirts, 200 bibs, 93 small cones and 10 football carrier bags.