NAM keeps fingers crossed
Malawi National Netball Team’s participation in the 2024 Test Series against South Africa’s Spar Proteas is doubtful after Malawi National Council of Sports said it will not approve the trip due to lack of funds.
Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) announced early this year about the invitational test matches set for August in the rainbow nation.
However, the Sports Council said it will not allow the Queens to participate in the matches which require about K130 million funding.
The council’s position comes after NAM said it wants the Queens to go into camp next month in preparation for the event organised by their counterparts in South Africa.
Sports Council spokesperson Edgar Mtulumbwa in an interview yesterday said there are no funds for the trip.
He said: “Our stance is that we do not have funding for these test series matches. Automatically, we have also not approved the Queens camping as well as their participation at the competition.”
However, NAM general secretary Isaac Chimwala in an interview said they were not aware of the council’s position on the trip.
He said: “We are scheduled to meet the Sports Council this week over the same issue. They are aware of the trip, having informed them about it some months ago. But we will now update them on the whole programme, including the budget. Otherwise, we have not been told about their decision not to approve it. May be they will tell us at the meeting.”
Council’s stance comes weeks after it said it would be strict on funding association’s activities.
Chimwala said the test series would help the coach Joana Kachilika to kick-start the Malawi Queens rebuilding exercise.
“We are also planning to include the Under-21 team to use the test series to prepare for the Netball World Cup,” he said.
On NAM’s next move, Chimwala said they are not moved with Sports Council’s stand.
He said: “As of now, our plans are unchanged. We want to play these test series. They are our only hope of keeping the teams active ahead of the upcoming international competitions. We are still hopeful that after engaging Sports Council in our next meeting, they will understand the importance of these test series for both the Queens and the Under-21.”
The Queens are rebuilding ahead of 2026 Commonwealth Games and the 2027 Netball World Cup.
The test matches were initially scheduled for February this year, but they were shifted to give the two teams’ new coaches ample time to fine-tune their squads.
Spa Proteas coach Jenifer van Dyk in March said she opted to play Malawi Queens in her debut rather than overseas teams.
Netball South Africa president Cecilia Molokwane hailed the coach’s choice of Malawi Queens, saying it would ignite the rivalry between the two sides.
“Playing Malawi is an advantage better than playing European teams to get more points, and Jenny said she wants to start at home, she said why go overseas when we have African teams she can compete against?’’ SABC quoted Molokwane.
Coincidentally, Kachilika is also yet to play her debut match following her appointment to replace Peace Chawinga-Kalua.
Kachilika has already proposed two international friendly matches against Zimbabwe and Zambia this July before facing South Africa in the test series in October.
Presently, the Queens are seventh on World Netball rankings while Zimbabwe and Zambia lie 13th and 16th, respectively.
Africa’s number one team South Africa’s Spar Proteas, on the other hand, are fifth.
