Karonga to host Airtel Netball throw-off

The Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) has announced that this year’s edition of the Airtel Money National Netball Championship throw-off will take place in Karonga on March 20.

NAM president Rosy Chinunda disclosed this in an interview in Lilongwe on Friday.

“The reason we chose Karonga are two-fold. First, we want to take the Airtel Money brand to remote areas. We want people of Karonga, Chitipa and Likoma to know that they can transact through Airtel Money smoothly. The choice of the venue is about promoting the Airtel Money brand,” said Chinunda.

She said the second reason is to promote netball in remote areas such as Karonga.

“Netball is a national sport, but focus has been in major cities such as Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu. This time we are saying let’s take the game to Karonga. A big tournament like Airtel being launched in Karonga will inspire more girls to take the sport seriously,” said Chinunda.

Airtel Malawi launched the K360 million netball sponsorship in 2013 to cater for the national league and Malawi Queens.

In a related development, Chinunda announced that the Queens have been invited to take part in the African Netball Games (ANA) scheduled in Namibia in May and also the Diamond Challenge to be hosted by South Africa in June.

“Since returning from the UK, the girls have been inactive, so we need to be involved in more tournaments if we are to be at par with our competitors. We need as many tournaments as possible before we take part in the World Netball Series,” she said.

Chinunda, however, said her association is yet to confirm participation until they are sure of funding.

“We first must confer with government and other stakeholders after which I will come back to you and give our position,” she said.