Two of the four Malawian blossoming footballers, Sean McBrams and Thembani Phoya, who were undergoing trials at Italian giants AC Milan’s Lombardia Uno Academy, have passed the first test.

The others were Spencer Tsamwa and Ralph Jooma Jnr.

McBrams (R) and Phoya have cleared the first hurdle

A notification from the facilitators of the trials World Wide Scholarships (WWS) group chief executive officer Munya Maraire, says McBrams, 18, and Phoya, 16, underwent medical tests on Tuesday and will be further assessed alongside other successful trialists from across the continent.

Reads the notification in part: “Today we were given the list of players currently selected to go for medical certification.

“We do understand [that] there are some players that are disappointed [with the outcome], but this selection is based on the coaches’ assessment.

“Please note that the players are still being looked into and that performance in training or games is the selection criteria and is still ongoing throughout this week.”

In an interview yesterday, McBrams and Phoya could not hide their excitement.

Said McBrams: “But while I am over the moon, on the other hand I am kind of scared because obviously the thought of failure will kick in.

“Nevertheless, I have full belief that I will make it.”

On his part, Phoya said: “I couldn’t sleep because of the excitement, but there is still the last hurdle to overcome. So, let’s see. But so far, so good.”

He also said apart from the language barrier, the trials have been smooth.

Said Phoya: “Training has been wonderful, just really intense, but it has been a bit challenging because the coaches are speaking a lot of Italian.

“The reception has also been awesome as we are staying in a hotel.”

Football Association of Malawi president Walter Nyamilandu said: “This is good news. We are excited for the youngsters, they have come a long way and we hope they will see out the last hurdle.

“As I said, we need such gateway for the players and hopefully the boys will open up a professional career pathway in football.”

The Malawian youngsters were first identified during local trials held in Lilongwe in February by WWS in conjunction with AC Milan legend Claudio Basileni

Their next stage was Johannesburg in South Africa where they trained for six weeks ahead of the actual trials.

In its quest to link talented young African athletes with opportunities to showcase their talent on the global stage, WWS recently partnered Lombardia Uno AC Milan Academy.

They have also established partnerships with some of the world’s top clubs and regularly host talent showcase trials.

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