FIFA has made its first-ever grant to Zambia, funding a new £115,000 ($150,000) stadium inspired by Newcastle United fans in the rural community of Mfuwe. The grant, awarded after years of fundraising by Tyneside couple Crispin Mason-Jones, 64, and his wife, Dr Ellie Bond, 60, will go towards a new pitch at the JK Stadium, alongside a multi-sport facility and an educational outreach project.
Grant from FIFA marks first for Zambia
Crispin, of Jesmond, Newcastle, said: "The grant is to go towards the cost of the main football pitch and the all-weather multi-sport facility." He added: "The Zambian currency may have dropped in value since last year but it will still go a long way toward achieving our goals. It is for the region's people."
The educational buildings on the site, completed through a joint venture with the Project Luangwa Foundation, were instrumental in securing the grant. Crispin said: "We would not have received the grant without the new buildings."
Plans for the new facility
Aerial shots show the bare land transformed, with areas marked out for the new football pitch and an all-weather facility. Crispin is now looking at options to ship strips and Astroturf from the UK to Africa, and fundraising for transport costs.
He said: "We are now focusing on providing kit to schools rather than local teams to foster sport within them. I did the original drawings and the early work with Project Luangwa, and I am now looking for Astroturf for the pitch."
Community impact and support
Apart from the Mfuwe Mags, The Valley Queens, who play in the Zambian National League, will also benefit from the work done by Project Luangwa at the JK Stadium. The Mirror previously joined Crispin as he brought £1,000 worth of black-and-white strips and 21 pairs of junior football boots to the Mags under-15 side. Thousands more kits have been provided since then, transported over 5,000 miles from Tyneside to Africa.
Project Luangwa CEO Ian Macallan, originally from Durham, provides education at remote bush schools alongside health and sporting programmes. In July, the organisation was awarded a $150,000 grant from FIFA's Global Citizen Education Fund to develop sporting opportunities in Mfuwe, the first time Zambia has received a FIFA grant of this kind. The money is intended to provide facilities including a football pitch and facilities for tennis, basketball and netball.
