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The progress of footballers into positions of administrative power in football should be encouraged, say Walter Nyamilandu, a former Malawi international midfielder who has gone onto a place on the FIFA Council, the highest table in world football.

“We have the interests of the players at heart; we know the suffering, we know their needs,” he said in an interview on this week’s The COSAFA Show podcast.

Nyamilandu said it was important to strike the right balance among those running the game.

“You have those with corporate know how but it is also good to have former players who are able to share their views on how to improve the running of the game of football.”

His comments come in the wake of the bid by Didier Drogba to become the president of the Ivory Coast football federation at elections scheduled on September 5.

“For those who have played for the national team, it is a continuation of our careers. We want to continue imparting the knowledge that we have to global football.

“For anyone who has played football to be part and parcel of the decision-making process is very important. I find it very rewarding for all the investment I’ve made into the game. I’ve invested my entire lifetime in football.

“It’s a big privilege for me to serve on the FIFA Council and I must thank those who supported me in COSAFA and throughout Africa, from CAF and FIFA.

“To combine my administrative experience and my corporate executive experience with the FIFA Council makes me a fully rounded person,” he said.