NAM at fault on Ngwira’s transfer saga
The demand for Malawi netball players is steadily gaining momentum on the international market, but lack of proper player’ transfer procedures is threatening to frustrate the market, Nation on Sunday has established.
While in football, clearly defined club licensing system regulations put the player’s career first, in netball, it is the law of the jungle.
As clubs tussle in transfer wrangles with Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) abdicating its responsibility of regulating the sport, the victim on the receiving end are players.
Shooter-cum-defender Laureen Ngwira, who was identified by Queens coach Griffin Saenda to understudy Australia-based star Mwawi Kumwenda, has been idle for a year and a half following an unresolved transfer wrangle with her club, Tigresses.
Alliance Capital Stars (now Serenity Sisters) wanted to sign the player, but Tigresses demanded a K10 million price tag, a fee that is twice the Southern Region Rainbow Paints League sponsorship and K2 million less the national GOTv Netball Championship.
Despite the player and Alliance lodging a complaint with NAM, a year and a half later, the wrangle still remains unsolved.
“We complained to NAM on the issue and the response was not satisfactory. They told us to go back to Tigresses. We felt this did not make sense because we complained to them as the mother-body after we failed to reach an agreement with Tigresses,” the club’s chairperson Dalitso Chinyama said.
According to Chinyama, Alliance Capital, who had offered Ngwira a job, ended up pulling out sponsorship for the club altogether after getting frustrated with NAM and the team changed its name to Serenity Sisters.
NAM is now paying the price as the wrangle has resurfaced following a United Kingdom outfit Hertfordshire Mavericks’ interest in Ngwira.
Despite the player staying a year and half without playing or drawing a salary from the club after resigning, Tigresses are demanding a cut from the deal.
“As I said before, she is still our player. She signed a contract up to 2019,” said Tigresses patron Hellene Mpinganjira Tasosa.
Ngwira, who last year announced she had quit Tigresses, refused to comment on the latest development.
Queens coach Saenda said it was sad that a promising player’s career was put in jeopardy because of greed.
He said: “Ngwira was one of the key players in my Queens rebuilding exercise. What has happened has affected the Queens. But I have not given up on her. I will see how to help her out.”
NAM president Khungikile Matiya said general secretary Carol Bapu was better placed to comment on the issue.
“She is the one who was handling that issue,” she said.
But Bapu was not available for comment.
This article has so many errors and untruths that it creates more confusion to the saga than NAM itself. The truths are
(1) Lauren HAS a contract signed with Tigresses till 2019
(2) Tigresses NEVER offered the player to Alliance for MK10 million.
(3) Alliance tried to illegally poach Lauren from Tigresses, as was determined by a legal team constituted by NAM.
(4) Mavericks want the player for only one month, they can arrange this with Tigresses separately but they decided to go through Mary Waya who has no rights to the player)
(5) Mr. Saenda has been quoted here. (He is sick and incommunicado at the moment)
(6) How could Laureen understudy Mwayi? Could she do this only at Alliance Stars and not Tigresses?
(7) Laureen’s problems with Tigresses were disciplinary and did not affect her contract.