Modern Education and Training Institute (METI) says it will start offering scholarships to footballers and other athletes in the country to prepare them for life after retirement.
In an interview on Thursday, METI’s Academic Director, Isaac Mazaza Jere, said they signed a five-year partnership with Football Players Association of Malawi (FPAM) to offer scholarships to football players.
He said the scholarships would help athletes to secure descent jobs as well as venture into various businesses after quitting the sports profession.
“We found out that the football profession is good for players when they are physically strong but when something happens, such as injury, players suffer financially.
“So we want to train them in technical vocational skills and other courses such as journalism, television production and business administration so that if something happens to them, they should be able to secure a job and sustain their lives,” said Jere.
Jere explained that METI will be offering scholarships in journalism to five footballers, two netballers and two athletes from other sports disciplines every academic year.
He added that in television production, ten footballers, five netballers and five athletes will be offered sponsorship while five footballers, two netballers and two athletes will be drilled in screen printing.
The 2017 Super League Champions Be Forward Wanderers Player, Jimmy Zakazaka, said at last football players in the country would have the chance to build a brighter future with the scholarships.
“Let me commend METI for coming up with this initiative because through these scholarships, we will be able to go back to school and learn various skills that will help us in the near future,” Zakazaka said.
FPAM’s Chairperson, Alfred Lungu, said the scholarships would uplift the welfare of footballers in the country.
Modern Education and Training Institute (METI) is a private education and training institution that provides various courses
