The Mozambican Football Federation (FMF) has identified more than 100 players aged between 12 and 23 living abroad who could strengthen the country’s national teams, FMF president Feizal Sidat announced on Wednesday.

“We are working to recruit more Mozambican players from the diaspora. In the age categories from 12 to 23 years old, we have over 100 athletes,” said Sidat during a press conference in Maputo, where he presented the federation’s mid-year activity report.

The players were identified in countries such as Portugal, Italy, Germany, England, and Spain. Sidat highlighted several young Mozambicans currently training with the Atlético de Madrid academy in the Spanish capital.

He acknowledged that many Mozambican parents take their children to European academies without informing the FMF, which has made it necessary to conduct a wide-reaching scouting exercise.

“We have athletes in Italy, Portugal, Germany, in several places.” Sidat assured that the scouting initiative covers all national youth team categories, not just the senior squad.

“As the Mozambican Football Federation, we are committed to strengthening all our national teams — not just the senior side but also youth squads. We are conducting this scouting so we can build a team capable of competing with any African nation,” he stressed.

The FMF president also revealed that FIFA had approved the eligibility of some of these players to represent Mozambique, including 26-year-old right-back Diogo Calila, who plays for Santa Clara in Portugal.

“He’s one of the players now eligible for the national team. Last week we received confirmation from FIFA. Others are also in the pipeline, including Bruno Lameiras and his brother,” Sidat concluded.