Malawi Under-21 National Netball Team coach Noel Mussa says international friendlies against established teams such as England and New Zealand could be ideal preparations for the Netball World Youth Cup scheduled for September in Gilbratar.
He said this in an interview on Monday after the Netball World released a schedule for the global showpiece, including the fixture in which Malawi are in Pool D alongside Fiji, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and South Africa.
According to the schedule, Malawi will open its campaign on September 21 against Trinidad & Tobago. Next they will play Fiji on September 22, South Africa on September 23 and Barbados on September 24.
Top two teams in each pool will advance to the round of eight to determine final classification games. The tournament will conclude on September 28.
Said Mussa: “As of now, we do not know how most of our pool opponents play and we need to do our homework.
“What is important is for us to be well prepared for the games and with most of our players lacking international exposure, it will help a lot if we play some friendlies against the big teams before the tournament.”
He said if that fails, then international friendlies against neighbouring Zambia and Zimbabwe could do.
Meanwhile, the team on Monday started training at Blantyre Sports Arena, formerly Blantyre Youth Centre, with a total of 28 players.
NAM general secretary Yamikani Kauma on Monday said their goal is to expose the team to such international friendlies but they are still working on confirmations.
“We have organised a series of camping sessions to foster teamwork, coordination and unity among the players,” she said.
“Our goal is to expose the team to international friendlies, but we are still working on confirmations. Apart from that, securing funding for this remains a significant challenge, so we are exploring alternative and cost-effective solutions to make this vision a reality.”
The Netball World Youth Cup acts as a platform for talent exposure to overseas top netball clubs.
It was through a similar competition in 2009 that Australia-based Mwawi Kumwenda was spotted by Peninsular Waves to become the country’s first professional netball player.
