Here, you’ll find all the key posts we have published to highlight our ongoing work with young footballers in Malawi, set out as a timeline that shows the great work so many people do to help one of the poorest countries in Africa by supporting not just football but education projects more widely.
2nd September 2024
Our Partnership with Play Soccer Malawi has been running for six years and has seen us support the use of football in one of the poorest African nation to help across of wider education projects.
In that time we have been on the ground in Lilongwe and Blantyre with our Ambassador Jimmy Bone helping the development of coaches. We also undertook a project ( thanks to Scottish Football Fans generous donations ) to pay for two fishing boats that were used by the local community that could sell the fish they caught to funding community football programmes. These programmes helped by using football to increase school attendance, to get kids education across a range of health issues as well as helping with fitness and wellbeing.
Another simple strand to our ongoing support has been in providing a supply of reusable football kit and football boots from schools and grassroots teams in Scotland that are sent to Malawi on containers that are organised by the fantastic charity The Banana box Trust who are based in Dundee. There is currently a shipment of kit being distributed in Malawi and we will show the pictures from our friends at Play Soccer Malawi as soon as we get them. In the meantime we will be heading for Dundee later this week to drop off 10 bags and boxes for kit that is going to be shipped in the coming months This will include kit from Cambusbarron Rovers, Gairdoch United, Wallace High School and GSR Central Academy.
If you know of any team who wish to donate reusable kit or boots or have any fundraising ideas please get in touch with Paul Goodwin, who leads for the SFSA on Malawi, on 07702 252519
23rd March 2024
MALAWI an update and your chance to win!!
Our ongoing work with Play Soccer Malawi will see used kits depart from Dundee and make their way to Blantyre and Lilongwe in the next few months thanks to our friends at The Banana Box Trust and many of our members who contributed to our last fundraiser.
We are also delighted that one of our Grassroots Members Rothes Juniors Football Club will soon be departing on a project to deliver coaching in Malawi. There will of course hook up with Patricio and his team at Play Soccer Malawi.
These trips can only be funded through a huge amount of fundraising and today we offer you the chance to support your fellow members AND have a chance to win an amazing signed Sir Alex Ferguson presentation photo.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/PNVWhqDvdMKwb67A/
4th November 2022
The SFSA formed a partnership agreement with Play Soccer Malawi in 2017 which resulted in our Co-Founder Paul Goodwin and our Ambassador Jimmy Bone travelling out to Liliongwie and to Blantyre to help develop the partnership through a series of Coaching Masterclasses.
Since those early days the relationship has developed and has also seen us work with the Malawi FA and the Malawi Football League. We have also been working with the Scottish Malawi Partnership and we have the long term aim to help the development of Grassroots Football Programmes in what is one of Africa’s poorest countries. Just as we have seen in Scotland football can be a fantastic tool to help get across health, well-being and education messages.
What we have done so far
- Development of our Malawi network here in Scotland and in Malawi
- Pilot coaching sessions devolved by Coaching guru Jimmy Bone
- On-going provision of recycled kit and boots to be used in Malawi
- Our recent Fish for Football Project saw our members raise enough money to buy a fishing boat the sale of fish will allow for a small community football programme to be sustainable
- A visit of one of our members Dr Walt Adamson from the University of Glasgow saw us work together to support his on the ground where they are working on the health issues surrounding Sleep Sickness – using football as the community engagement tool
What we want to do next
- Fundraise for an outboard motor for the Fish for Football Project
- Develop a plan with our partners at the University of Glasgow to get kit out to Malawi on a regular basis and build on the recent success
- Looking for wider funding opportunities to further develop the programme
Anyone who would like to assist us should get in touch paulgoodwin@scottishfsa.org
Dr Walt Adamson’s recent trip out to Malawi
Dr Adamson is a scientist at the University of Glasgow and a Queen of the South fan currently working on infectious diseases and how they affect African populations.
Sleeping sickness is a disease that affects some of the poorest parts of rural Africa. It is caused by a parasite and transmitted by tsetse flies. Although the disease is treatable, it is fatal if left untreated, and diagnosis is often hampered by logistics (most cases occur in remote locations, far from medical facilities), misdiagnosis (initial symptoms are similar to malaria), and misinformation (resulting in a lack of trust in scientists and doctors in affected communities). There is currently a significant outbreak of sleeping sickness in Malawi, and Dr Adamson is involved in several research projects there: trying to understand the causes of the outbreak, and what can be done to prevent it spreading.
In much of sub-Saharan Africa, football is by far the most popular sport and the areas that we were working in were no exception. Our Malawian collaborators told us that one of the best ways to draw a crowd for our work was to organise it around a football match, with local villages playing against each other. They also told us how resources for sports equipment were scarce in these areas, and that donations of football kit would be a great way to encourage teams to take part and to forge links with the communities that we visited.
Thanks to our work here at the SFSA, alongside help from Glasgow University FC, Bo’ness United Community FC, and Queen of the South fan Ross Corbett, Dr Adamson departed for Malawi in early October with cases full of kit from Scottish football teams, and over the past couple of weekends it has been getting delivered as part of his work. The reactions from the communities we have visited have certainly been extremely positive, and it has been amazing to see how much these people appreciate the kits.
The football strip donations seem to have caught the imagination of clubs in Scotland, and several have been in touch offering sets of strips that they no longer need. As a result, more teams from areas such as the ones we have visited will receive kit in the coming weeks. If anyone has football kit that they no longer need and would like it to go to a new home where it will be very well appreciated, then please get in touch via walt.adamson@glasgow.ac.uk
24th December 2021
Calling all Partick Thistle fans and Scottish Football memorabilia collectors!
The SFSA have a large selection of Partick Thistle collectibles up for grabs to help the organisation raise funds for our next venture to Malawi to help further develop the football infrastructure in the African nation.
The SFSA have always been passionate about helping the game that we all love to thrive and develop especially for those less fortunate than ourselves who share a common passion for football. The SFSA co-founder Paul Goodwin alongside former player, coach and friend of the organisation, Jimmy Bone have previously travelled to Malawi, providing kits and some training experience to the young boys and girls who were keen to learn. They also established a relationship with the Malawi FA and the Malawi Premier League who have asked for help to further develop coaching facilities and educational programmes. You can read more about the previous journey here: https://scottishfsa.org/malawi/
Through this auction the SFSA hope to fund a return mission to Malawi to pick up where Paul and Jimmy left off, with plans to keep the historic Scotland-Malawi partnership connected through the love of football.
There are 64 different items to choose from, ranging from signed kits to programmes, postcards and prints and even a hospitality day at Firhill with Jimmy Bone himself! You can find all the listings via the link below. Please get involved and help the SFSA get back out to Malawi and continue to use football to make a huge difference to the lives in one of Africa’s poorest countries. If memorabilia is not your thing you will still be able to make a donation by following the link. A donation even of the cost of a pie and Bovril could make a huge difference to the boys and girls we hope to help.
Thank you!
16th July 2021
Below is an article written by Ben Ramage, highighting the improtant work the SFSA are conducting to support young football fans in Malawi. You can read Ben’s full article here:
A Paisley football club has teamed up with St Mirren legend Jimmy Bone to help deliver football strips to some of the poorest kids in Africa.
Blackstoun United found their players had outgrown their strips after finally making a return to football as lockdown restrictions eased.
They were looking for a way to ensure the kit didn’t go to waste, and when club secretary Neil Fox heard that Bone was part of a unique programme looking to help promote grassroots football in Malawi, he thought it was no-brainer to get involved.
He handed the shirts over to the Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA), who established the project to provide kit and coaching to some of Malawi’s poorest youngsters, at the SMiSA Stadium given Hall of Famer Bone’s association with the Saints.
Fox said: “Our club and our sponsors were delighted to see the kit get a second opportunity to help promote the game in Malawi.
“We look forward to hearing all about the lucky team who receives them.”
Bone, who captained the Buddies to an Anglo-Scottish Cup win in 1980 as a player and was assistant manager when they lifted the Scottish Cup in 1987, has been involved with the SFSA’s campaign from the outset.
He visited the country to deliver kits and coaching sessions in 2019, and believes the project will have a huge positive impact on youngsters as it is used as an incentive to make sure children keep attending school and doing their homework.
Bone said: “I am delighted to get such great kit to take out to Malawi.
“We are working closely with Play Soccer Malawi who use football to offer incredibly positive opportunities for boys and girls in a country that is one of the poorest in Africa.
“This kit will be hugely important to motivate and encourage so many kids in Lilongwe and Blantyre.”
To learn more about the campaign, visit www.scottishfsa.org/malawi
15th April 2021
Calling all Partick Thistle fans and Scottish Football memorabilia collectors!
The SFSA have a large selection of Partick Thistle collectibles up for grabs to help the organisation raise funds for our next venture to Malawi to help further develop the football infrastructure in the African nation.
The SFSA have always been passionate about helping the game that we all love to thrive and develop especially for those less fortunate than ourselves who share a common passion for football. The SFSA co-founder Paul Goodwin alongside former player, coach and friend of the organisation, Jimmy Bone have previously travelled to Malawi, providing kits and some training experience to the young boys and girls who were keen to learn. They also established a relationship with the Malawi FA and the Malawi Premier League who have asked for help to further develop coaching facilities and educational programmes. You can read more about the previous journey here: https://scottishfsa.org/malawi/
Through this auction the SFSA hope to fund a return mission to Malawi to pick up where Paul and Jimmy left off, with plans to keep the historic Scotland-Malawi partnership connected through the love of football.
There are 64 different items to choose from, ranging from signed kits to programmes, postcards and prints and even a hospitality day at Firhill with Jimmy Bone himself! You can find all the listings via the link below. Please get involved and help the SFSA get back out to Malawi and continue to use football to make a huge difference to the lives in one of Africa’s poorest countries. If memorabilia is not your thing you will still be able to make a donation by following the link. A donation even of the cost of a pie and Bovril could make a huge difference to the boys and girls we hope to help.
Thank you!
5th November 2019
The Scottish Football Supporters Association are currently working with the Scotland Malawi Partnership to set up a sustainable certified football coaching programme in the country. Scotland’s premier football publication; Nutmeg Magazine takes a look at the project…
It is estimated that more than half of the world’s population consider themselves to be association football (soccer) fans, according to worldatlas.com.
Yes, if we were ever in any doubt, football is the most popular sport in the world. It captivates audiences locally and nationally across all corners of the globe, with Scottish football one tiny cog in a wheel that spins and spins. In some countries it is big business, in others less so. While mind-boggling multi-million-pound deals are regularly struck among Europe’s elite or fans are asked to stump up large sums to take their pristine seat at sponsored stadiums simply known as The Emirates or The Etihad, there are far different sides to the beautiful game.
I’m not talking about a dreich November night on the terraces at Central Park in Cowdenbeath or a goalless stalemate with Albion Rovers, but the development of the sport in far less wealthy countries where the simple sight of a football can see children running for a kick with beaming smiles.
Some Scots are still working on spreading the football word. Take Paul Goodwin, director of the Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA). In late April, after a 24-hour journey from Glasgow via Dubai and Lusaka, he and Jimmy Bone – former manager at St Mirren, among others – arrived in Lilongwe, the bustling capital city of Malawi in south-east Africa. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with over 50 per cent of the population living below the poverty line and 25 per cent in extreme poverty.
“It’s a vibrant, dusty, hugely busy and exciting place,” says Goodwin. “There are thousands of people going everywhere and loads of people walking, which is the main mode of transport. There are mini-buses where six or seven people are hanging on to doors and roofs, there are loads of traffic jams and it is all disorderly – but fun and exuberant at the same time. In terms of poverty, it’s seeing people walking in bare feet and people at the side of the road selling whatever they have grown to turn a living. But there was no begging – there was a huge amount of dignity about the people, who were very welcoming and hospitable to us.”
It was a rewarding eight-day visit that had been long in the planning. Labelled as an SFSA development trip, it could prove much more than that over time.
The SFSA is the national football supporters umbrella group representing fans of all Scottish clubs. A volunteer-run, not-for-profit social enterprise, it is the only independent fans’ body with representation at Football Supporters Europe and has nearly 71,000 members. It is well-placed to support and deliver innovative programmes that can use the power of football to enhance a community, consulting widely with many football clubs, supporters’ groups, the Scottish government as well as the Labour, Green and SNP political parties on fans’ affairs. It also has working relationships with both the SFA and the SPFL.
One such campaign that shows how football can be used for the power of good, is that in Malawi. It came from a discussion around the SFSA’s “Taps Aff” campaign and their desire to pursue a Scottish government facilitation grant of £10,000 for the project later this year. It was an idea that also came from historic ties. Founded in 2004, the Scotland Malawi Partnership is the national civil society network coordinating, representing and supporting the many people-to-people links between the two nations.
Links between Scotland and Malawi began with David Livingstone’s journeys up the Zambezi and Shire Rivers to Lake Malawi in 1859, long before the borders of the modern nation of Malawi had been established.
“For years it has been bugging me, seeing kids’ old boots and strips and wondering, where do they go?” asks Goodwin, a father and Partick Thistle fan. “It lies in a cupboard or occasionally goes to a charity shop. We have a surplus of stock and how can we distribute it? There are historical connections between Malawi and Scotland, going way back to David Livingstone, and then we learned there is no community football development programme there. There is no infrastructure. Once we spoke to the Scottish Malawi Partnership, there was interest in the kit and for both football communities to talk to each other. There is no equivalent fans’ group in Malawi, so for them there is also interest in that too, to develop one and build their infrastructure. It would be great to try and bring the countries together, like UEFA and FIFA speak so much about, namely spreading the love of football.
“We want to create pathways for Scottish football clubs and fans to donate football strips, and boots etc, to Malawi on a regular basis and build a relationship between the countries. This would help support sustainable certified football coaching in Malawi and potentially develop football scholarships there.”
Goodwin and Bone, the recently retired SFA coaching performance manager, headed out in April to meet with Play Soccer Malawi, including CEO Patricio Kulemeka, and other interested parties to allow them to develop a detailed proposal for submission. “The people were so appreciative of what we were trying to do,” says Goodwin. “Even we arrived at the airport there was a ‘Welcome’ banner. We had help and support from Emirates airlines who had heard our story and knew we were taking loads of kids’ kit over, about 10 bags, with clubs like Hearts, St Johnstone and Falkirk supporting us. It was such a big deal for the people in Malawi that we were coming. They had done their research on Jimmy as well, who he had played for and coached.”
Bone has varied experiences in this area. In 2018, he travelled to Lesotho on similar work. He also had two stints coaching in South Africa. It is his time in Zambia, however, that still draws a big smile. Bone led Power Dynamos to the African Cup Winners Cup in 1991 – the first southern African team to win a continental trophy – before tragedy struck [See Nutmeg Issue 9 – The Power And The Glory by Andrew Jenkin]. Within a year of Bone returning to the UK, five of his former players had been killed in a plane crash that wiped out the Zambian national team. He is now a patron of Africa On The Ball, a Scottish charity that, through sport, helps communities like those Bone has experienced. Visiting Malawi was another chapter in his much-travelled career.
Goodwin continues the story: “We didn’t just open the kit bags up. Play Soccer Malawi used a pair of shorts, a top or a pair of boots, as an incentive to make sure the children were actually attending school and doing their homework. If it was all positive, they could aspire to getting a bit of kit. The kit was one part of the trip and the other was the coaching.
“The sports centre at Lilongwe only had a burnt sand park. We worked with the under-17s who feed into the national team. They warmed up by singing, dancing and doing chants – it was compelling to see! Jimmy also worked with the women’s homeless World Cup team. We then went down to Blantyre (spot the further Scottish connection) which is a little more Westernised, with less hustle and bustle.
“We went to a private school there which did have a grass park. They had advertised we were putting a session on for boys aged 11-13 and there were meant to be 15 boys but 80 turned up! I watched what Jimmy was doing and tried to mirror it! Some of the boys had bare feet and some only had one shoe, which made us determined to do more. It was very warm but there was no water. There was a tap close by, and there is running water, but none had a bottle to use. We would love to do a fundraiser to source 3,000 bottles, take them out and educate them on the importance of hydration.”
Goodwin and Bone met the chairman of the Malawi FA and the chairman and president of the domestic league. They are keen for Scotland’s support: “We are looking at setting up a coaching network in Malawi using the skills of Jimmy who has many years’ experience in this area,” notes Goodwin. “Once established, we could use the coaching network for other education and wellbeing promotion.”
The work is admirable and, in the short term, the basis of a potential plan has been formulated that would allow for a supported pilot that could be rolled out next spring. This could involve the SFSA making links with two close-by village communities in Malawi and two local football communities in Scotland. The clubs in Scotland could hold a derby match where old kit could be collected, with the same activity happening in Malawi.
Goodwin, who closer to home has recently helped launch a new supporters’ group, Thistle For Ever, aimed at securing a majority shareholding for Partick Thistle fans, sees future benefits for all.
“The long-term development of sustainable relationships, nurtured between teams and fans in both countries via social media channels for example, would be fantastic,” he continues. “Coaching development would be another phase of the concept. The nirvana situation for us is an association between a little town or village with a team here in Scotland so we can build relationships and watch it evolve. I can’t wait to go back to Malawi.”