Queens trip flops
Malawi national netball team, the Queens, will not take part in the 2015 Africa Netball Championship throwing off today in Botswana after government failed to provide a last-gasp rescue package.
Queens’ absence in Gaborone threatens their ranking as Africa’s number one team and the world’s fifth best with rivals and the continent’s second best, South Africa, granted the initiative to assert their continental dominance.
South Africa is sixth in the world and will in Botswana be up against weaker opposition such as hosts Swaziland and Zambia.
Uganda has also pulled out due to lack of funds.
Sports Minister Grace Chiumia yesterday said she needed to consult his ministry’s top officials such as sports director Jameson Ndalama over the Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) request for K40 million to cater for the trip to Botswana.
But Ndalama said N BAM exhausted its budget and to seek extra funding needed more time.
The Africa Championship was initially scheduled for Namibia, but withdrew, throwing NAM’s plans off balance because, according to NAM president Rosy Chinunda, the initial plan was for Netball South Africa to sponsor Queens’ air tickets from Durban to Namibia.
South Africa met visiting team’s expenses at the Diamond Challenge Netball series. n
