World netball giants already preparing hard for Commonwealth Games 2025 and World Netball Cup 2026

* The Queens’ performance has gone down in the recent past but this was due to lack of adequate preparation

* Early camping helps a lot as the technical panel and the players are able to formulate good combinations

By Tione Andsen, MANA

UK-based Malawi national netball team player, Joyce Mvula contends that the Queens can claim its lost glory if funds are injected for early preparation and camping ahead of international tournaments, saying world netball giants such as New Zealand, Australia, England and Jamaica have already started camping for 2025 Commonwealth Games 2025 and World Netball Cup 2026.

The Leeds Lionesses professional made the suggestion on Saturday at Gateway Mall in an interview when she graced the Gateway Mall Central Region League sponsored by MPICO.

She admitted that the Queens’ performance has gone down in the recent past but this was due to lack of adequate preparation, emphasising that early camping helps a lot as the technical panel and the players are able to formulate good combinations.

The Queens goal shooter observed that the Queens only have one week of camping for big tournaments and the results are usually disastrous, saying: “When I was first called into camp in 2010, we used to be in camp for two months when preparing for big tournaments.

Thus she noted that New Zealand, Australia, England, Jamaica and others are in the thick of things eyeing ahead of the Commonwealth Games 2025 and World Netball Cup 2026.

She observed that these world giants attach much seriousness and stay more focused, saying: “If we are to progress, we need to emulate what our opponents are doing and then we will be at par with them.

“Netball Association of Malawi, through Malawi National Council of Sports, need to support the Queens technically and financially. Camping makes the players happy and happy players always win games.”

Also present at the games was former Queens captain, Emmie Chongwe, who bemoaned delays in injecting new blood into the team: “We are taking long to replace our aging players and as a result we are being caught up.

“We need to have a fine succession plan and more days of camping in order to develop our play. We have the talent and the only way we can nurture it is to scout around.”

Meanwhile, Mvula presented assorted sporting shoes to Immigration Netball Club, which is playing in the Gateway Mall Central Region League, saying provision of better sports equipment remains fundamental prerequisite to the development of any sport code in the country.

She emphasised that the development of any sporting code starts with the essential basic equipment such as such balls, uniforms, whistles and playing surface.

“A well-wisher, who opted not to be named collected and provided the fairly used shoes,” she said, adding that she does get pleas for assistance and she goes ahead to ask some other few friends to help.

“I have collected the parcel to present to Immigration netball team,” she said, adding that playing on hard surface was prone to lots of injuries and wearing of sporting shoes help to curb some of them — particularly in Malawi where most playing courts are made of concrete.

Immigration’s coach, Aaron Gopani expressed the team’s gratitude to the well-wishers, saying the donation would go a long way in improving the standards of play for his players.

He said playing shoes are one of the critical equipment most teams in the league are lacking and the coming of the shoes has narrow the gap his was facing in terms of equipement.

“I am hopeful that the donation will help to boost morale in my camp and the team will start doing betters in our league games,” Gopani said.

In the league games, Blue Eagles Sisters reigned supreme over their traditional rivals, Civonets in a thrilling Capital City netball derby when they edged them by 39 baskets to 26.

The Area 30 Nankhaka ladies proved that their dominance in the game in the region was still unshaken as they played an attacking game as opposed to their opponents despite the game was rated top of the bill.

Blue Eagles Sisters are now top with 10 points from five games with 262 baskets against 115 while Civonets have eight points from five games with 205 baskets against 173.

The leaders are yet to register defeat and while Civonets have recorded one for the season.

The first quarter belonged to the lady servants as they were leading by 7-8 baskets at the end with Eluby Chikooka and Florence Jeke netting the baskets.

The second quarter saw Blue Eagles Sisters on top on their game with Nancy Njawala and Ruth Kaliyenda although had their lifeline but the introduction of Civonets, goal shooter, Cythia Khunga but lacked composure at times.

This quarter saw Blue Eagles Sisters taking the lead to 10 baskets to 9 at break and in the third quarter, Eagles Sisters piled pressure and were netting more baskets through Njawala and Kaliyenda — consolidating their lead with 27 baskets to 20.

The last quarter, Civonets trailed behind as they were failing to put their act together and were losing valuables baskets when in attack and at the end, Eagles Sisters carried the day with 39 baskets to 26.

Blue Eagles Sisters coach, Madano Tepetheya said his chargers denied their opponents where to go: “We were generally quick on the ball and we denied them to attack us, At the end of the day we carried the day and no that we deployed physical game.”

Civonets coach, White Mulilima attributed the loss to bad umpiring, saying there a lot of questionable decisions which were made against their team: “You saw the physical contact the Blues Eagles Sisters players had on our players and nothing was happening and instead the umpires warned our players for questioning their decisions,” he lamented.

The other results were Sharp Shooters 59-20 Dyna Queens, Boma 39-44 Vanessa, Lioness 61-24 Immigration and Young Eagles 41-27 Vanessa Sisters.