Malawi National Netball Team Coach Joanna Kachilika has acknowledged that the Queens fell short of expectations in the Spar Challenge International Test Series at Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg, South Africa.
She was, however, quick to say there was a need for more camping time to turn the tide before the Africa Netball Championship slated for Swakopmund, Namibia, from December 9 to 10.
Kachilika made the call after the Queens suffered comprehensive defeats in the Rainbow Nation.
They lost 68-31 on Thursday, 69-38 on Saturday and 69-24 on Sunday to mark a bad start for Kachilika’s reign as coach for the side.
She signed a three-year-deal in January.
The last time the team suffered heavy defeats was in 2020 in Sun City, South Africa, when they lost 69- 28.
Kachilika said the test series were an eye-opener as they gave her a chance to assess the squad.
“We have seen our strengths and weaknesses and I believe that, with more time, we can rectify what went wrong during the series. If we can be given time, we can fix the problems. We now know which players can play in certain positions, having tried different combinations,” Kachilika said.
On her part, Netball Association of Malawi (Nam) President Vitumbiko Mwandemange-Gubuduza dubbed the defeats as unfortunate, arguing that the association had been given an opportunity to review the team’s performance for purposes of improvement.
“That is, in essence, what Test Series are for. We need to interrogate the root cause of such performances and see what we need to do before the Africa Netball Cup.
“We will get reports from the technical team and see what we can work on going forward,” Mwandemange-Gubuduza said.
Meanwhile, Nam has been caught off guard after Africa Netball, the body that governs the sport on the continent, invited men’s teams to be part of the continental showpiece.
The championship will feature both women’s and men’s netball teams from across Africa.
So far, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, eSwatini, Namibia, Lesotho, Kenya and Tanzania have confirmed participation.
Nam has confirmed Malawi Queens’ participation but has doubted the possibility of including the men’s team due to funding woes.
“Following an invitation from Africa Netball, Nam will send the Malawi Queens, our national women’s netball team, to compete in the prestigious tournament.
“Due to limited resources, Nam has committed to sending the women’s team. Efforts are underway to secure additional funding to support the participation of our men’s netball team. Nam is supportive of the World Netball strategy to incorporate men in the netball sport, something most countries have, so far, implemented,” a statement reads.
One of the players for Akabawi, the men’s netball side, Noel Mussa said they were keenly following the development.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed. We just hope that Nam will secure additional support so that we travel to the tournament,” Mussa said.
