Sports associations have big dreams in 2014

Some sports associations have said they would like to make huge strides in 2014 to give the nation a reason to smile.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu said the target is to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations as well as secure a sponsor for the Flames.

“Having failed to achieve our dream to qualify for 2014 World Cup, our focus now has switched to the 2015 Nations Cup qualification campaign, but for us to achieve that we will need a sound financial backing to support our preparations and programmes. We also want to secure sponsorship for the national team,” said Nyamilandu.

He added that the good thing is that they have laid the foundation by building a youthful side which combines experience and up-and-coming talent.

The FAM president also hoped for a speedy process of recruiting a new coach.

He also bemoaned the ugly scenes of violence which he said marred the game in 2013.

“We need to reflect on that and put a stop to acts of violence and hooliganism once and for all. Otherwise, it is not a healthy situation as it has the potential to scare current and potential sponsors.

“The other crucial factor is to see to it that we make strides in the quest to commercialise our game,” he said.

Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) president Rosy Chinunda said through structures they have put in place at district and regional level, and with the help of Malawi Schools Sports Association (Massa), they plan to build strong junior national teams from Under-17 to Under-21 using the Airtel and Presidential national tournaments.

“We want to have a system whereby we should have a proper transition, so as not to struggle for replacements as has been the case in the recent past,” said Chinunda.

The NAM president said it is their wish that the Malawi Queens should break into the top four in the Fast5 World Series which will again be hosted by New Zealand. They are also aiming big at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow later this year.

“I know it has turned into more or less like a song, but this year we will see to it that we achieve our goal. One of the contributing factors to our failure was lack of funding, but the Airtel tournament has given us a lot of hope,” said Chinunda.

She said apart from a few hitches they encountered in 2013, they still made some strides.

“Of course, there were things such as the Presidential Cup National finals controversy that could have been easily avoided, but all in all it was a good year. We managed to build a new team which defied the odds to retain the fifth position at the Fast5 World Netball tournament although we failed to retain the Africa Netball Championship after losing to South Africa. We also secured a landmark [K360 million] Airtel sponsorship that also covers the Queens.

“Mwawi Kumwenda also turned into a full professional netballer when she moved to New Zealand from Australia. So, it was not that bad,” she said.

Lawn Tennis Association of Malawi (Ltam) general secretary Golden Banda said they are planning to put up structures for ranking players.

“It will be through the rankings that we will be picking players for international tournaments. We will also launch a league whose sponsor has already been identified, but will be unveiled at an appropriate time. The league will start in February,” said Banda.

Golf Union of Malawi (GUoM) president Gabriel Kambale said the union plans to boost the development programme and strengthen the national team.

“The junior golf committee under Dingaan Chirwa is doing a wonderful job and we would like to step up the programme to produce as many golfers as possible in the near future.

“There is also need to strengthen the national team this year by filling the gaps because we have had the current team for a long time,” he said.