The beautiful game has been helping in the battle against a deadly disease in Africa.
Scientist and former Dalbeattie High School pupil Walt Adamson has recently returned from a trip to Malawi where he is involved in research projects aimed at tackling sleeping sickness.
In a bid to raise awareness among the country’s population of the importance of being treated for the fatal disease, the team from the University of Glasgow staged a series of football matches.
And Queen of the South fan Walt took old strips from Dumfries amateur teams with him to give to the teams in Malawi.
He said: “In much of sub-Saharan Africa, football is by far the most popular sport and the areas that we were working in were no exception.
“Our Malawian collaborators told us that one of the best ways to draw a crowd for our work was to organise it around a football match, with local villages playing against each other.
“They also told us how resources for sports equipment were scarce in these areas and that donations of football kit would be a great way to encourage teams to take part and to forge links with the communities that we visited.
“Searches for clubs in Scotland who might be willing to donate kit led me to Ross Corbett who I knew of through supporting Queens.
“Thanks to Ross and his contacts I departed for Malawi earlier in October with cases full of Dumfries Sunday Amateur football team shirts. Over the past couple of weekends it has been getting delivered as part of our work and I’ve been watching teams in rural Malawi facing off against each other in kit from the likes of Doonhamers Travel Club, Dumfries Athletic, the Hole In the Wa, Palmerston Colts and Ruthwell Rovers.
“It has been an unforgettable experience, and I feel really lucky to have been able to be part of something that has been such fun, interesting and, hopefully, worthwhile.
“The reactions from the communities we have visited have certainly been extremely positive, with crowds often numbering more than 1,000 – more than a typical Scottish League One match!
“However, the most striking thing was how much the strips meant to the people who received them. It was extremely humbling.”
Sleeping sickness is caused by a parasite and is fatal if untreated. Misdiagnosis and misinformation can hinder attempts to help, resulting in the need to stage events to tackle the problem.
Walt is involved in efforts to understand the cause of a significant outbreak in Malawi and what can be done to stop it spreading. Last year, funding from The Wellcome Trust and the Scottish Public Engagement Network, allowed the team to work with Kamuzu Malawi’s University of Health Sciences, the country’s Voices Theatre and Surge Theatre in Glasgow to use street theatre as a way to engage with people about the problem.
Football is another part of the engagement process, with Walt planning to return next year to carry out more research.
He said: “I am hoping that we can find ways to extend the public engagement work that we have been doing to more communities affected by sleeping sickness.
Anyone who has old strips they no longer need that they would like to donate can contact Walt on walt.adamson@glasgow.ac.uk.
