Meridian help boosts Malawi

The Meridian project between UEFA and African confederation CAF has helped Malawi's national team hit the heights in southern Africa.

Training camp
The Malawi team accepted an invitation from England's Football Association to undertake a recent two-week training camp in England funded by The FA's International Development Programme.

Close co-operation
England and Malawi have been involved in close co-operation as part of the Meridian project, in which various European national football associations are giving wide-ranging material and practical assistance to counterparts in Africa.

Excellent preparation
The intensive programme of training and matches provided excellent preparation for the team in advance of their programme in the COSAFA Castle Cup - southern Africa's premier cup competition. Malawi have since reached the final of the competition for the first time by beating Zambia 1-0 in the semi-final, and will play South Africa over two legs on 21 and 28 September.

Learn from the experience
"The camp helped both players and officials - most of whom have not visited England before - to get a feel for how football is played in this country and to learn from the experience," said the FA's Head of International Relations, Jane Bateman. "It also helps us to gain a better understanding of Malawian football, its needs and how we can help it to develop, which is intrinsic to the success of our partnership programme."

Academy visits
Two victories in two days was excellent reward for the team led by Danish coach Kim Splidsboel and the highlight of a programme which also included visits to the Manchester United FC and Liverpool FC's academies, as well as a specialist training session with FA sports scientists at Lilleshall.

Wonderful initiative
Their first match against Stockport County FC - played as a highlight of the Manchester Umbro International Football Festival - was witnessed by the Malawian Minister for Sports & Culture, Moses Dossi, who praised the Meridian project as a "wonderful initiative by CAF and UEFA in bringing my country together with England for the huge benefit of football in Malawi".