Ball in NAM’s court, says Saenda
After guiding the Queens to new heights at the 2016 Fast5 World Netball Series in Australia, Griffin ‘Zagallo’ Saenda has said the ball is now in Netball Association of Malawi’s (NAM) court on whether or not to maintain him as coach.
Saenda and his assistant Sam Kanyenda’s short-term contracts with NAM as caretaker coaches for the Queens have expired as they were specifically hired for the Fast5 tournament where they led the Queens to a historic third place.
The Kukoma Diamonds coach, who doubles as NAM technical director (TD), said: “My short-term contract has indeed expired and I have reverted to my role as TD, but should NAM still require my services be it on a short or long-term, I am ready. The ball is in their court.
“If they decide to offer me a long-term deal then I can consider retiring from government, but if they would again offer me another short-term deal, I would be game.”
Saenda said he is excited to have realised his dream of breaking into the top three of a global showcase.
NAM president Rosy Chinunda said the executive committee will meet next week to, among other things, review the Queens’ performance at the Fast5 where the determination on the way forward regarding the coaches, will also be made.
She said: “The Queens next assignment will be the Africa Netball Championship which will be held between June and July in Uganda subject to confirmation, but in between the team needs to be involved in friendly matches so as to keep up the momentum. So, we will definitely need to have coaches
“However, funding remains our biggest challenge and we will court government through Malawi national Council of Sports [MNCS] and other potential partners.” n
