We met a group of boys sitting patiently outside the FOMO Malawi office in August 2019, as they had heard we had some kits and they were desperate to receive one for their new team.
We handed over an orange Harpenden Colts kit and the boys decided to name the team KitAid FC in our honour. They are incredibly dedicated and train twice a day, at 6am before school and then again in the afternoon. They even sacked a manager for turning up late to training and once marched an older boy to the local police station, as he had sold their kit to another team. They got it all back with the help of the police!
We have taken them under our wing and provided a set of junior goal posts as they were playing with a full size set. They have become the most successful team in the Mulanje district and had to start playing older boys, beating most of them. We also arranged for them to travel with the mens team, FOMO FC, to away games in the Malawi Super League, so they could play against better teams. In two years, they have only lost three games and one of these was against an U17 team.
With the help of FOMO Malawi, who look after the boys, we want to keep the team together for the next 5 years, so when they reach 18, they can continue into mens football. We would love them to enter the official Malawi Super League and time will tell, if many of the boys are tempted to join one of the big teams.
This story is typical of the talent that exists across Africa and we are proud to have played a part in giving KitAid FC a start in their football journey.