Volleyball, basketball national teams in coma
An obsession with few sports codes such as football and sponsorship apathy have left volleyball and basketball national teams virtually inactive.
The funding woes have left volleyball and basketball national teams idle in the past three years, thereby discouraging athletes in the two disciplines.
Basketball Association of Malawi (Basmal) general secretary, Edgar Ng’ong’ola, admitted on Thursday that the sport faces numerous challenges, but he was confident that Malawi would soon return onto the international stage.
“Funding has always been a challenge, but we are working hard to organise an international friendly game for the national team. If all goes well, we might play two games before the end of the year,” he said.
He said the association has earmarked Zimbabwe, Tanzania or Zambia for the friendly games.
However, Ng’ong’ola said the country is failing to pay undisclosed amount of debts to Federation of International Basketball (Fiba), hence being snubbed on major tournaments.
On his part, Volleyball Association of Malawi (Vam) general secretary, Jairosi Nkhoma, also shared similar sentiments.
“As a nation, it is not easy to arrange a friendly game because we don’t have enough funds. We are not panicking because we participate in Africa club championships every year,” Nkhoma said.
So far, only the local volleyball and basketball clubs years.
Last year, Kamuzu Barracks volleyball team took part in Zone V1 Club Championship in Swaziland, whereas Brave Hearts and Bricks basketball teams went to Tanzania to play friendly games, courtesy of G.Y.Imports and Exports.
In Malawi, only football and netball get a lion’s share of annual grants which government gives to sports associations through Malawi National Council of Sports. Other disciplines such as basketball and volleyball get estimated K1 million annually.
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