No international friendlies for Queens
Malawi Queens will not travel outside the country as initially planned for friendly games in preparation for the African Netball Association (Ana) Championships Malawi will host from June 24 in Blantyre.
Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) had earlier arranged two friendly matches outside the country, but the decision has been changed after government trimmed their proposed budget for the hosting of the continental contest from K50 million to K40 million.
Instead, NAM president Rosy Chinunda said they will have preparatory games against any two countries that will arrive early for the continental showpiece. South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Lesotho have already confirmed participation.
Chinunda said they might have their first friendly against Botswana, which is expected to arrive three days before the start of the event at Blantyre Youth Centre and College of Medicine (CoM) Sports Complex.
She added that the ongoing GOtv Netball Champions League will also help them build the impetus among the players.
“As you know, we will feature two teams (the Queens and Under-21 national team) in the African Championships and it will be difficult to travel outside the country for friendly games with our current budget,” said Chinunda.
Minister of Youth and Sports Enoch Chihana has confirmed that they have approved the K40 million (about $100 000) budget for the Ana Championships.
The Senior Malawi Queens and the Under-21 National Team will go into separate training camps on June 3.
