STEADY AS SHE GOES - BLANDINA MDEBWE (FIFA MASTER 25th EDITION)
There is a calmness about Blandina Mdebwe, one that mirrors the place she calls home near the wide, still waters of Lake Malawi. Yet when asked what she misses most, it’s not the calm of the lake or even its fish. “I really miss my mom’s cooking,” she says with a smile. “Mostly her goat stew, which is simply simmered for a long time until it’s falling off the bone and makes its own rich broth.” That slow simmer feels like a metaphor for life in Malawi itself. “The pace of life is different,” Blandina reflects. “Everything is relaxed, a very ‘you can do it later’ type of vibe.” She might just be the personification of this lake, offering both softness and depth.
Blandina’s gentleness was never weakness; it was space-making. And it was when she went to boarding school at age 12 where she started carving out space for herself. “I feel like my life began when I went to secondary school. I became my own person.” Surrounded by new friendships that offered both strength and solace, Blandina first gravitated toward the calming rhythm of knitting. “I really liked knitting,” she glows. But when her friends encouraged her to try various sports, she also found herself exploring netball, basketball, football, and sprinting. But the strength she found was never about athletic performance. It was about discovering what made her feel most like herself. And as it turned out, movement would become part of that identity.
When a scheduling hiccup in Blandina’s first year at South Africa’s University of Pretoria led her to a sports management course, she didn’t protest. Instead, she quietly walked through the door. “Almost everything was closed by the time I arrived for registration, so I visited the humanities building. It was there I discovered the sports recreation management track.” She enrolled, not entirely sure what she was stepping into (“What the heck is this?” she remembers thinking). But the turning point came early on during a class trip to a nearby township where students planned activities for local children. “I just remember being so happy singing this ‘Yum Yum ke peanut butter’ song with the kids.” In that small, joy-filled moment, something clicked. She hadn’t planned for a future in sport, but in those songs, games, and shared laughter, she caught a glimpse of what it would look like to build community through movement.
After graduation, the onset and continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic tested Blandina’s resolve. “It took me almost two years to get a job, and the time in between was miserable.” Like many, she attempted to bring structure to unstructured days. “I tried to make a routine: I would wake up, do yoga, try to learn a new skill,” she remembers, adding slyly: “I learned how to cook, but only when no one was watching. I hated being watched in the kitchen. Too much pressure!” She also speaks candidly about burnout during that time. “I think I tried to do too much all at once. I haven’t really been the same since,” she admits with a half-laugh. “Now I try to be more careful with my energy.”
Eventually, Blandina’s patience and persistence paid off. She landed a job at Malawi’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, where she began navigating the complexities of public sector work. There was a natural adjustment period (new systems, limited resources), but Blandina found ways to contribute. She joined school visits and helped perform needs assessments across the country, documenting the realities of sport access for youth and gaining her first hands-on experience of how it can support development from the ground up.
That foundation led her to a new opportunity with the Football Association of Malawi as a member of the women’s football department, even though she initially met it with uncertainty. “When they called me for an interview, I felt unprepared. I knew very little about football,” she remembers. But when the moment came, she exceeded her own expectations. “I killed the presentation,” she says of the case study she delivered as part of her application process. The work that followed was challenging and sometimes stretched across multiple responsibilities – spanning event logistics, communications, and administrative support – but also deeply rewarding. What started with uncertainty turned into a growing sense of purpose in the world of sport.
Her work at the Football Association subtly opened another door. During a club licensing workshop, she met Andres (FMA 12th edition), a FIFA representative who struck up a conversation with her during lunch. “He started telling me about his career, and then mentioned the FIFA Master,” she recalls. “I didn’t know what it was, but he said I should look into it.” At first, Blandina hesitated. It felt a bit out of reach. But as time went on, the idea lingered. “I thought, ‘well, I don’t lose anything by applying.’”
What began as a cautious submission turned into a new chapter. She was accepted, packed her bags, and found herself studying sport across three different countries – England, Italy, and Switzerland – each offering fresh challenges. While she had travelled within Africa before, the FIFA Master marked her first time setting foot outside the continent. That alone made it more than just an academic opportunity. It was an unspoken promise that her world was expanding. “I was excited to travel,” she says, “and the more I learned, the more I saw how many different ways there are to make an impact in this space.”
Even as she moves through classrooms and stadium tours, it’s the steadiness of home that calls to her. She lovingly describes one sister as someone who “can really cook” and another who makes clothes by hand and “runs a tight ship” in group settings – and her mom with a steady kind of respect. “We weren’t always close, but now we laugh together.” She still misses the lake, the food, and the ease of Malawian life. But she returns home soon with something new: a broader view of what’s possible and a clearer vision of the role she can play in shaping it, whether in safeguarding, women’s football, or grassroots development. Whatever happens, Blandina’s path will continue to unfold like her favorite stew: unhurried, full of depth, and gently seasoned by time.
By Geneva Decker
FIFA Master 25th edition student
FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, ranked Europe's No.1 course a record 12 times by SportBusiness.
FIFA Master - 25 years of Excellence in Sport Business Education - organised by CIES in partnership with De Montfort University (UK), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland).
