Netball Association of Malawi blows K4m in aborted Cosana tournament trip

Netball Association of Malawi (Nam) has spent about K4 million following the cancellation of the Confederation of Southern Africa Netball Associations (Cosana) championship which was to be held in Swaziland this week.

The Malawi Queens were due to leave last Friday for the tournament but were only informed of the postponement two hours before departure at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe.

Nam president Rose Chinunda said the association would ask Cosana to reimburse the money which was spent on two weeks camping, return air tickets and other logistics in preparation for the tournament.

“We are currently working on the total sum. But basing on approximations, it appears that we spent about K4 million,” said Chinunda.

She said the association would use a clause in the Cosana constitution which allows teams to seek compensation when a tournament is postponed or cancelled at the 11th hour.

“We are currently going through the Cosana constitution to present a strong case to be compensated. In our case, we feel we have the right to demand compensation,” she said.

Cosana postponed the event after some countries, including South Africa, Zambia and Botswana, pulled out from participation at the last minute.

However, with reports that Cosana was currently going through financial problems, it is not yet known whether Malawi would be able to be compensated even if they presented a valid case to the regional netball body.

Malawi Queens were planning to use the tournament to exert revenge against rivals South Africa. Queens suffered a 47-43 loss to South Africa during last month’s Diamond Challenge in Pretoria.