Funding woes hit MTL Queens hard
Few months after losing sponsorship, MTL Queens’ miserable life came to the fore last Sunday when they failed to travel to Zomba for an OG Issa Southern Region Netball League (SRNL) encounter against Prison Sisters.
As a result, they have granted Prison Sisters a bonus 150-0 victory and dropped from fourth to sixth on the 13-team log table.
Signs of the team’s poor state of affairs were diagnosed on Saturday when only seven players turned up for a rematch against Diamonds at College of Medicine (CoM) Sports Complex in Blantyre where they lost 18-54.
“We are crippled financially and we could not raise enough funds for our away game on Sunday. However, we pleaded with SRNL to shift the game to another date of our convenience as they do with other teams but they refused,” said Queens general secretary Christina Mkwanda.
The GS, who said they will not quit the race, attributed the team’s poor turn-out at CoM on Saturday to communication problems between them and SRNL. She said they were initially told their games had been postponed.
“As a result some players and officials went to attend other functions such as funerals. It just seems SRNL has a grudge against us,” said Mkwanda.
But SRNL general secretary Annie Hanjahanja-Billie disputed Mkwanda’s claims, saying the league notified the team about the Saturday games, but they failed to turn up for discussions concerning their away game on Sunday.
Currently, Prison Sisters are at the summit with 42 points from 17 games. Alliance Capital Sisters are second on the ladder with 36 points from 16 games while defending champions Complex Tigresses are third on 31 points from 11 encounters, just as fourth-positioned Diamonds.
