Lingadzi Academy

Named by the children who play there every day, Lingadzi Academy is the current focus of Building Malawi — and the largest sports facility in the country. All the money you raise or donate goes to this project.

The 22-acre site in west Lilongwe is already alive with activity. It features a library run by the National Library Service of Malawi, four football pitches, a pavilion, a playground, and a hard-court netball court — Grace’s Netball Court. A large adjacent building is used for teaching, and a full school is planned next.

Sport that changes lives

Our partner Play Football Malawi runs a thriving community football academy here — seven squads of boys and girls aged 8–18, around 160 children in all. They coach four times a week, supporting children physically (with fruit, eggs and milk), academically and technically.

The vision: Phase 1 and beyond

This is by far our most ambitious project — the first of its kind in Malawi. The plan brings together a primary and secondary school, top-quality sports facilities, a library and computer cluster, an agricultural development centre and a sports development centre, all on a single campus inside the city.

• Classrooms that are more spacious and naturally lit than the norm — better places to learn.
• A library block with a computer cluster for modern, digital skills.
• Football pitches, netball and volleyball courts, and space for athletics.
• A sports development centre training coaches to work across Lilongwe — spreading both sport and HIV/AIDS awareness.
• Income from lessons, coaching and facility hire, reinvested to keep the academy growing year on year.