Tigresses won’t block Ngwira’s England move
Tigresses have said they will not block Laureen Ngwira from joining top English netball club Hertfordshire Mavericks but would like to see proper procedures followed first.
Mavericks listed the lofty shooter-cum-defender and her compatriot Sherat Kaiche of Thunder Queens to feature as their players in the Fast5 All Star Netball Tournament in London on September 23, but Tigresses lodged a complaint to Netball Association of Malawi (NAM), arguing they were not officially notified as required by netball rules.
The English club’s interest in the duo has come a few days after hiring former Malawi Queens coach Mary Waya as shooters’ mentor.
“We cannot bar any of our players from joining any club if there is transparency in the transfer process,” said Tigresses team manager Helene Mpinganjira-Tasosa.
“As per article 37.6 of NAM constitution, a parent club, Tigresses in this case, should be involved in discussions and approve the player’s release. We do not entertain shortcuts; once such a process is done properly, Ngwira will be allowed to go.”
She said such shortcuts were also the main reasons that prevented them from releasing Ngwira to Alliance Capital Stars (now Serenity Stars) last season.
Ngwira had, until last weekend when she was featured in the GOtv Netball Champions League, been out of action since May 2016, trying to force a move to Stars but Tigresses were reluctant to let her go, arguing she had a four-year running contract and wanted to build their team for the future around her.
“We are not greedy as others might believe but we only want netball procedures followed before we let players join other clubs,” she said.
Mpinganjira-Tasosa added that if they were greedy, they could not let a number of their players such as Juliet Sambo (Blue Eagles Sisters), Maureen Mopiha (Civonets), Chrissy Mdoka (Stars) and Jessie Msamba (Mafco Soldiers), join other teams.
NAM general secretary Carol Bapu said discussions about Ngwira’s move to Mavericks are at an advanced stage.
