Willy Yabwanya Phiri grew up in Karonga, Northern Malawi, a district along the Songwe River on the border with Tanzania. He is a Marketing Graduate with London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). He is also an Automotive Industry Technician and graduate of Merseta-Johannesburg (South Africa). Willy also studied Introduction to Computer Science at Varsity College in Pietermaritzburg (South Africa). He also holds Certification in I-CAR BCIT Northern America, Canada and 3M South Africa.
Willy Phiri, currently serves as an Autobody Technician at Fix Auto-Miller Group in British Columbia (Canada). Previously Willy worked at Hugo’s Panel Shop in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, as an Automotive Repair Technician from 2000 to 2008. In January 1999 to June 2000 he worked as a Marketing Assistant at NS MARKETING & FINANCE in Pietermaritzburg , South Africa.
Willy’s stint for the Automotive industry started when he briefly worked for Mano’s Panel Beaters in Pietermaritzburg (South Africa). In October 2006, Willy was offered a position at Fix Auto-Miller Group in Canada as an Autobody Technician and he moved to Canada 2 years later in May 2008 after completing immigration processes. It was while in Canada that the idea of helping Malawi Youth through Sports was born, a year after arriving.
Willy played lots of soccer when he was a young student at Chilumba Secondary School, in Karonga, Malawi. This is when the love for the game really took a SERIOUS step him. He had wished he did more but for him it was just fun playing and never did he realize that his love for soccer would grow to this extent.
When God graced him with an opportunity of working and living in Canada 10 years ago the first thing on his mind was how to empower and help the youth in Malawi. He had remembered his past and thought that he should be more meaningful by providing a helping hand to the ailing soccer industry in Malawi.
He did not hesitate, but swung into gear straight away. He started buying soccer equipment every pay cheque, soccer balls, uniforms, cleats, sheen guards and more and made a trip every year to Malawi to donate material to the boys and girls in Malawi. The passion grew and Yabwanya FC and Net Ball teams were born out of it in 2009. From there onwards he fell in love with it.
As he saw the joy across the spectrum of boys and girls, and how much they appreciated his good gesture, he did it every year and it became a cause for him. As God blessed him, he also blessed them with anything he could gather. Sometimes, he gave half of his pay cheque away to help the boys and girls back in Malawi. In the long run, Willy also started helping kids in many ways, such as paying school fees for them, financial needs and upkeeps. He felt he had a purpose.
In 2013-14 , he took over as Sponsor, CEO and owner of Karonga United as they qualified for the Malawi Elite soccer aka SUPER LEAGUE. It was at that level that he decided that if had to make an impact for the betterment of all boys and girls in Malawi soccer, he had to go big. He joined the politics of Soccer and run for the President of the FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF MALAWI in 2015. Though he did not it, he is still determined to continue his agenda of soccer development, and hence coming up with the idea for this new project.