Queens dangled Australia test
Malawi Queens have been invited to an international netball series in the Asia Pacific Region ahead of the 2023 Netball World Cup scheduled for July in Cape Town, South Africa.
In an interview yesterday, Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) vice-president Chimwemwe Bakali said the tournament is scheduled for end April in Queensland, Australia.
He said names of the other participants in the eight-team event will remain under wraps until the organisers make it official in the next few days.
However, netball playing nations in the Asia Pacific region include the world’s top-ranked Australia, second-ranked New Zealand and eighth-ranked Tonga. Others are 17th-ranked Fiji, 18th-ranked Samoa and 19th-placed Cook Islands.
The NAM vice-president described the opportunity as a big boost for the Queens’ preparations ahead of the global showpiece.
The national netball team, which was expected to start camp training at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences Sports Complex in Blantyre yesterday, has not been active since August last year when they competed in the Netball World Cup Africa qualifiers in South Africa.
“Considering the current Queens’ rebuilding process, the series will play a big role for new players to gain international exposure and help the technical panel to try different combinations ahead of the Netball World Cup. We are hopeful that the trip will not fail,” Bakali said.
Queens’ captain Carol Mtukule-Ngwira said the international series tournament is crucial for the national netball team to have good chances of doing well at the World Cup.
“It is important to take part in almost every international event that comes our way because it would provide a real picture about our state of preparedness in terms of endurance and tactics ahead of the World Cup,” she said.
However, Bakali said the Queens will need at least K190 million to fulfil the trip and they are hoping to get financial support from government and other stakeholders.
Three months ago, the Queens failed to travel to South Africa for the Spar Challenge as NAM could not source the required K80 million for the trip.
“So far, we have informed the Malawi National Council of Sports about the invitation and we are just waiting for a response,” he said.
But Sports Council spokesperson Edgar Ntulumbwa yesterday could not commit government’s support, saying such will come out clear after 2023/24 National Budget is passed.
“As you know, the current financial year expires in March and we cannot, in the meantime, tell if financial support for the Queens’ trip will be possible,” he said.
