Sports Council jolts NAM

Malawi National Council of Sports last week summoned Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) executive committee to discuss issues pertaining to the Malawi Queens and general management of the sport.

A press statement issued by Sports Council yesterday signed by its spokesperson Edgar Ntulumbwa states that the issues discussed included the Queens’ recent test matches in South Africa where the association was accused of portraying a picture that the team was going there for a tournament.

The meeting also tackled the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England which were also rocked by controversy relating to player selection,  2023 Netball World Cup qualifiers  Queens’ finances, players conduct, Queens’ performance as well as transition and future of the team.

Reads part of the statement: “The closed door meeting was held in a spirit of fairness with the sole purpose of ensuring that the Sport of Netball is professionally run.

“All issues were candidly discussed and tackled and solutions proposed were made.”

The statement further states that during the meeting,  which was chaired by Sports Council board chairperson Sunduzwayo Madise, NAM president Abigail Shariff was tasked to ensure implementation of NAM transformation into a professionally run association.

“Council will closely monitor events to ensure that what was agreed at the meeting is implemented,” the statement further reads.

Shariff described the meeting as cordial.

She said: “We will ensure that we implement all the proposals made by Sports Council.”

Apart from officials from Sports Council and NAM, the meeting was also attended by director of sports in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Jameson Ndalama and Malawi Olympic Committee president Jappie Mhango.