Queens preparing to fail?
The adage ‘failing to prepare is preparing to fail’ seems to perfectly fit Malawi netball Queens’ groundwork ahead of the 2015 Netball World Cup scheduled for early August in Sydney, Australia.
According to the 2015 netball calendar the Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) has released, the Queens start their camp training on July 1. Yet by this time, all the other qualified teams for the global event will have already spent over six months in camp training.
Moreover, it is doubtful if government would pump extra funding into the national team’s preparations after NAM exhausted its allocation for the current financial year, Sports Council executive secretary George Jana has disclosed.
The Queens camped for only 15 days prior to the 2014 Fast5 Netball Series in New Zealand. This resulted in six consecutive losses, including a 22-30 defeat by their fiercest rivals South Africa, who are eyeing the Queens’ fifth position on the world rankings and first slot in Africa. Malawi went on to lose two test series against England.
NAM president Rosy Chinunda admitted during the week that one month would not be enough for the Queens to fully prepare for the World Cup. She, however, said they are organising fundraising events so that the team should begin tune-ups much earlier.
When asked what has happened to the funding they get from the government and the Airtel Money’s K25.6 million annual sponsorship for the Queens, Chinunda said they are yet to get a word from the government and she would not talk about Airtel support until after a review meeting is held with the mobile network providers on the sponsorship next week.
“We would have loved to have early preparations, but we are yet to discuss with our stakeholders on the funding of the forthcoming event. In spite of that, we have planned to have some fundraising activities soon so as to get things started,” she said but could not give details on the kind of activities and exact dates for the initiatives.
When asked whether New Zealand-based professional Mwawi Kumwenda would make it into the World Cup squad, Chinunda said: “Put that issue aside, it should not concern you”.
She, however, said that the nation should not get worried by the Queens’ delay to go for camp training because “the way that other teams will prepare is different from how we will do it. It is too early to get alarmed”.
But Jana said everything would have been easier for the Queens had NAM made proper plans on their funding as the current financial year will end in June.
“Had they planned well, NAM would not have exhausted their allocation for the current financial year; they would have included the World Cup. Now, it is difficult to say whether government would give extra money for preparations of the forthcoming World Cup until the start of the next financial calendar in June,” he said.
Jana said NAM could have included the Queens’ budget for the World Cup preparation when they requested K30 million funding for the recent Fast5 contest.
“In spite of that, not all preparations require funding; by now they could have been doing something to prepare the team,” he said.
Queens’ coach Mary Waya said she would not comment on the matter. She, however, said the national team already started preparing for the World Cup last December when they travelled to England for Test Series matches.
Nevertheless, sixth-ranked South Africa’s Proteas, who earned automatic qualification for the global event alongside the Queens due to their world rankings, have already called up their squad and have began intensive camp training.
Uganda (ranked 13th) and 18th-ranked Zambia, who qualified for the World Cup after respectively emerging winners and runners-up during the African qualification tournament in Botswana five months ago, are the other Africa’s representatives that have also gone into camp.
Last week, the Uganda Netball Federation (UNF) received a boost to the Uganda netball national team, She Cranes’ training regime with local fitness organisation, Planet Fitness Gym and Spa, offering the use of their gymnasium services for the team’s 30 players.
According to International Netball Federation’s website on the World Cup Championships, the six-month deal with Planet Fitness will also provide the She Cranes with nutritional counsellors and other services which will ensure that the outfit is in top physical condition by the time they touch down in Sydney.
Zambia national team are as well serious with their preparations. They recently cancelled their camping for the Africa Netball Associations (ANA) Games to have ample time in camp for the global showpiece.
Although Queens will have a fairer assignment in the qualifying stages after being drafted in Pool C alongside South Africa, Singapore and Sri Lanka, shoddy preparations could take a toll on their performance in Sydney. Queens have never lost to Singapore and Sri Lanka, but they lost twice to South Africa last year.
The Sydney event will be Queens’ fifth World Cup, debuting in 1995 and only missing in 2003. Malawi’s highest World Cup finish was in 2007 in Auckland, New Zealand where they finished fifth.
South Africa will be featuring in the compatition for the eighth time of six consecutive appearances since 1995. Uganda will be competing in the global showpiece for the second time since their last appearance in 1979 in Trinidad & Tobago. Zambia will also be making a second appearance, having competed in the 1999 World Cup in Christchurch, New Zealand.
