FAM holds sports journalists workshop at Mpira Village
Sports journalists belonging to the Sports Writers Association of Malawi (SWAM) from all corners of Malawi were hosted to a one day workshop by the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) last Friday at Mpira Village, in Sydney Chikafa Conference Room at Chiwembe in Blantyre.
In his opening remarks, General Secretary for the Football Association of Malawi, Alfred Gift Gunda, said the workshop was a right direction towards developing football in the country.
He added that FAM and SWAM are partners in football development and that they both belong to the back pages of newspapers.
Gunda also pointed out that it was necessary for the two bodies to meet ahead of the 2017 season to share expectations and renew and strengthen the relationship that exists between them.
When the workshop began, the first two presentations were made by Gunda himself.
In his first presentation, he shared FAM’s vision which was created in 1966. The vision is “To contribute towards social economic development in the country and assist in putting Malawi on the world map through a thriving and robust football industry.”
He also outlined the FAM’s mission which is “To effectively organize, administer, develop and control the game of football consistent with FIFA rules and regulations in a manner that will continuously improve the standard of football in the country and enhance the competitiveness of Malawi football.”
Gunda’s second presentation was titled : ‘The National team, who is responsible?’ In this, he outlined several roles of FAM which include ensuring that the team is assembled for competitions, ensuring that trainers are available, identifying other sponsors to supplement government support to the team and ensuring that there is correct and adequate equipment for the team.
In the same presentation, he stressed that the government is the chief custodian of the national team on behalf of the people of Malawi and that it is the main sponsor of the team.
In the third presentation, FAM’s Casper Jangale took time to explain to sports journalists the Club Licensing System (CLS).
FAM lawyer Wanangwa Kaluwa was the fourth facilitator with a presentation on News Reporting and Analysing Versus Defamation and Libel.
In this, the emphasis was on being truthful, reporting accurate information and expressing opinions on matters of public interest in order to beat the libel-offside trap.
President of SWAM, Peter Kanjere, made the fourth presentation on the role of a Media Officer before, during and after matches based on his experience at COSAFA competitions.
The last presentation by Maxwell Mtonga was on the laws of the game (football). His was the longest of all as he dwelt on some changes made to some laws in football as well as the off side rule which he said is challenge to both sports journalist as well as team officials.
Speaking to Nyasa Times after the workshop, Mzuzu based sports journalist, Mike Lyson Zgambo, said the workshop was an eye opener.
“I have learnt a lot from this workshop and I hope to improve in the way I will be reporting and analyzing football matters this season,” observed Zgambo.
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