Sports Facilities
Free community sport — football, netball and volleyball — for hundreds of children every day.
Every day, hundreds of young Malawians turn up at Lingadzi Academy to play football, netball and volleyball — for free. Sport is at the heart of what we do, and it’s a powerful way to reach and educate young people.
How it started
When our project manager Tom Bowden first came to Malawi in 2001, he was invited to coach the Malawian national team. It was a fantastic experience — and it revealed a real need for football development. Tom saw enormous raw talent and enthusiasm going to waste, so he set up a community coaching programme at Premier League club Silver Strikers in Lilongwe, training local coaches to work with 5–11 year-olds. Every week the stadium opened to children to play and learn — and it regularly drew over 100.
In 2007 Tom ran a coaching clinic for 15 Malawian coaches, training them to deliver both sports coaching and the HIV/AIDS awareness message — so the success could be replicated across the whole city. It was here he met James Chilimampunga, now our full-time head coach.
Lingadzi Academy today
In 2008 we bought land for a community sports school, and Lingadzi Academy is now the largest sports facility in Malawi. James and the team coach around 200 children every day, and the project keeps growing. Working with our partner Play Football Malawi, coaching supports children physically (with fruit, eggs and milk), academically and technically.
Could you coach with us? We welcome volunteer coaches of any experience, all year round — you simply cover your own costs. Volunteer in Malawi, or donate sports equipment.
Be part of the next build.
Time, money or sports equipment — every contribution reaches the ground in Malawi.