Culture
Sport in Dzaleka
Also known as Football in Dzaleka, Dzaleka Sports Association
A reference entry on football and organised sport in the camp: the fifteen-team football scene, the Dzaleka Sports Association's youth tournaments, and programmes supported by FIFA and other partners.
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Football
Football is the camp’s dominant sport. UNHCR’s Goal Click storytelling project, which put cameras in the hands of refugee players, reported around fifteen football teams in Dzaleka, some competing in national and regional leagues and tournaments. Camp teams have also played exhibition matches against Malawi Super League opposition.
Organised youth sport
The Dzaleka Sports Association organises structured competition for children, including junior under-10 tournaments timed for school holidays. Its activities are open to children from both the camp and the surrounding Dowa host community — one of the few regular settings where the two groups compete and play together.
Partners and programmes
External programmes have grown around the local scene. A FIFA Foundation–supported coaching programme ran in the camp in 2024, with a FIFA assessment visit reported in 2026. The Match Foundation has documented football-based mental health work with young people, run with the Fountain of Hope organisation. Dance and youth groups such as Salama Africa also field football teams alongside their arts programmes.
Significance
Reporting on the camp describes organised sport as providing structured activity for young people and as one of the regular points of contact between the refugee and host communities. Sports programmes have also been used as a vehicle for psychosocial support, as documented in the entry on mental health in Dzaleka.
References
Sources
- 1
- 2Dzaleka Sports Association Promotes Unity and Child Development Through Football
Dzaleka.com, December 2025
- 3FIFA Foundation Assesses Impact of Coaching Programme at Dzaleka
Dzaleka.com, March 2026
- 4Mental Health Through Sports at Dzaleka Camp
Match Foundation, 20 March 2025
Related entries
Culture
Salama Africa
A refugee-founded dance group and intercultural youth centre in Dzaleka, established in 2014, that has competed in national dance competitions and runs arts and sports activities for young people.
Health
Mental health in Dzaleka
A reference entry on the 2022 Psychiatry Research screening study, the gap between measured distress and available psychosocial services, and the organisations providing support in the camp.
Education
Education in Dzaleka
Public, private, community, and post-secondary education in Dzaleka, including the Malawi curriculum and long-running scholarship and digital-learning programmes.
Culture
Tumaini Festival
A refugee-led arts and culture festival founded in Dzaleka in 2014, bringing camp residents, Malawian communities, and visiting artists together.
Place
Dzaleka Refugee Camp
A long-established refugee settlement in Dowa District, Malawi, opened in 1994 and now home to a large, multilingual community from the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa.
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