Malawian football shirts campaign

An attempt is starting in Edinburgh to collect 1,000 football shirts for youngsters in Malawi.

City council employees have adopted the idea from an Edinburgh couple who witnessed a project called Play Soccer Malawi during a visit to the country.

The campaigners also want 200 footballs and other items like pumps, training bibs, whistles and referees' kits.

In one area the scheme has 1,700 children signed up but only seven strips among them.

Dr Robert Stewart and his wife Mary visited an area called Malabada, in the township of Ndirande in Malawi, last July and witnessed the impact Play Soccer Malawi had on the lives of the children there.

Run by the Football Association Malawi (FAM) the project runs twice weekly and gives these children in one of the world's poorest nations the opportunity to just be children, and play together.

Dr Stewart said: "The conditions we witnessed in Malawi would be hard for many people living in Scotland to comprehend.

"However, the unbridled joy of the children having the opportunity to play football was truly uplifting to see.

"I think if the football loving people of Scotland knew about this project, they would jump at the chance to lend their support. The Scottish people are famously generous."

Cllr Deidre Brock, Edinburgh Council's culture and sport leader, said: "In this country football is often treated as if it is matter of life and death, but in Malawi this can actually be a reality.

"The health education these children receive during these sessions really could save their lives."

Kit donations can be handed in to any Edinburgh Leisure venue.