Malawi National Netball Team has been drawn in Pool One alongside South Africa in next month’s Africa Netball Cup in Lilongwe.
The draw was conducted in the capital yesterday ahead of the tournament scheduled for December 8 to 14 at Griffin Saenda Sports Complex.
Other teams in Pool One are Botswana and Tanzania.
Malawi will begin their campaign against Botswana on December 8.
The match will come immediately after the showdown between South Africa and Tanzania.
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Malawi will return to the court on Tuesday evening with another tough assignment against South Africa.
The Queens will wrap up their group stage campaign against Tanzania on December 12.
Pool Two comprises Uganda, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya.
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the semi-finals, with the number one team in Pool One facing the second-ranked team in Pool Two and vice versa.
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Queens coach Peace Kalua said they would not underrate any team.
“We are prepared to face all the teams. We do not expect to meet weak opposition because all the teams have prepared well for the cup,” she said.
Kalua said being drawn against South Africa was also a motivation.
“We are looking forward to beating them at our own backyard. We met them in Gibraltar recently and we lost with a small margin. They have good players but we also have them,” she said.
Queens captain Takondwa Lwazi said the girls were geared to end South Africa’s dominance.
“We have done our homework well. Our target is to win and we are confident about it,” she said.
In men’s netball, Malawi are in Pool Two alongside Namibia, Kenya and Eswatini.
Pool Two comprises South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Botswana.
Meanwhile, Local Organising Committee chairperson Limbani Matola said preparations for the tournament are at an advanced stage.
“We are ready to host a successful tournament. We are hopeful that the teams will give out their best,” Matola said.
Matola said spectators will need to pay if they want to watch the games, with the gate charges yet to be announced.
Eight teams in each category have confirmed their participation in the tournament.
