The Netball Association of Malawi (Nam) is optimistic that the Malawi National Netball Team, the Queens, will perform well at the upcoming Netball Africa Cup of Nations in Kenya.
The tournament throws off on September 19 and runs through to 26.
Nam set qualification for next year’s Sydney Netball World Cup and top-three finish as targets for coach Deborah Fuller.
Nam General Secretary Yamikani Khungwa Kauma said the targets were realistic after thorough preparations.
“We are expecting the team to do well and to qualify for the Netball World Cup,” Kauma said.
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“We have set a target of winning at least a medal at the end of the tournament,” Kauma added.
South Africa and Uganda have already qualified for next year’s Netball World Cup.
Two more teams will qualify for next year’s edition.
Sports analyst Antony Isaiah said Queens could meet the targets despite Malawi’s recent struggles at the continental showpiece.
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“We have not had a good record at the Africa Cup of Nations recently,” he said.
Malawi will be chasing an improved finish after back-to-back fourth-place results.
Last year, the Queens lost the third-place play-off to Zimbabwe on home soil.
Their last podium finish came in 2022, when they claimed silver after losing the final to South Africa.
The queens will start the tournament against Zambia before facing Kenya and, then, Nigeria. Malawi will wrap up the group stage campaign against Uganda.
Meanwhile, the Malawi Kings flew out of the country yesterday ahead of the tournament, which gets underway on Sunday.
The competition will be played in a round-robin format, with the Malawi Kings scheduled to play four matches.
