MASSA fighting age cheating in sports

The Malawi Schools Sports Association (MASSA) says it is doing all it can to eliminate age cheating in all sporting disciplines that take place in the country.

MASSA President Blackson Malamula said this ahead of the Malawi Youth Games Season 5 to be hosted in Blantyre beginning from Wednesday, 15th August, 2025.

MASSA has successfully hosted four seasons of these games which include athletics, para-athletics, handball, volleyball, basketball, netball, girls football and boys football at the levels of Under 15 and Under 17.

“These games are very important in sports development for the country. The issue of age cheating has been a problem in sports development but this time around we have done our groundwork in curbing this issue.

‘Many people just see players playing in our national teams at Under 20 or Under 23 levels but they don’t really know where that talent comes from. This is their chance to come and watch these youths take part in all these games and see how best they can support them so that the talent they have continues to be nurtured,” explained Malamula to Nyasa Times.

Early this year, the Football Association of (FAM) partnered MASSA by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at restoring school football programmes which the two sides said have been in decline since the early 1990s.

During the signing ceremony of the MOU, FAM President Fleetwood Haiya observed that the partnership between FAM and MASSA will help in player export strategy, emphasising that structured grassroots development is the foundation for producing quality players.

“Malawi has struggled to achieve international success at all levels due to lack of quality players, which stems from poor player development programmes and the absence of structured pathway in our schools.

“Previously, FAM had jurisdiction in schools, with MASSA being part of the FAM structure. This made it easier to implement programmes in schools. The breakdown of that relationship has had a lasting negative impact in our football,” explained Haiya.

It is widely believed that we cannot talk abou meaningful youth sports development without involving schools.