Council demands report from NAM on Queens’ selection feud

Malawi National Council of Sports has demanded a report from Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) on the Malawi Queens’ selection feud ahead of the team’s trip to Birmingham, England for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The demand follows a revelation by Queens coach Peace Chawinga-Kaluwa that NAM has tampered with her final squad list by replacing some players.

Sports Council board chairperson Sunduzwayo Madise said in an interview on Wednesday they are not amused by the developments and want a report before the team’s departure.

He said: “We note this is not the first time. I have asked for a report from the NAM President [Abigail Shariff].

“This is not the best way to kick off our journey to Birmingham.

“Two days ago, the Minister of Youth and Sports [Richard Chimwendo Banda] stressed to the athletes and their officials on the need to ably represent Malawi and aim to win medals in Birmingham.

“So, yes, council will not sit idly by. I reiterate what I have said before that associations should realise that as long as they are affiliated to and registered by council to administer sports, they have a fiduciary duty to account for their actions. Much more so when using taxpayers money and representing Malawi.”

Madise said it is not Sports Council’s intention to micromanage associations or interfere with how they run their affairs.

“However, Council has a statutory duty to oversee all sport in Malawi on behalf of the government, a duty council takes seriously. The nation must always come first,” he said.

The Sports Council chair also said what is happening at NAM justifies the importance of a project that is in the pipeline to orient and drill elected officials  in corporate and governance skills.

Shariff could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, but NAM vice-president Chimwemwe Bakali confirmed receiving the directive and said they will proceed accordingly.

“We will submit the report as asked by the council,” he said.

In an interview on Tuesday, Chawinga Kaluwa said she was surprised with the omission of goal-attacker Sindi Simtowe-Msowoya from the final list that she submitted.

“I was baffled that they had replaced Sindi with Tadala Masamba who was on the reserve list without consulting me,” she said.

But NAM general secretary Isaac Chimwala said it was a deliberate move to have an up-and-coming player Masamba on the list instead of Simtowe-Msowoya to expose new talent at the global showpiece.

He said: “We need to expose her at the Games. This is the ideal time for that.

“It was strategic to include Masamba in the final squad because we knew it would be much easier to draft in Simtowe-Msowoya at a later stage.”