Three Eastern Region netball teams reach One Nico Top 12 Cup national finals
Three netball teams from the Eastern Region, namely Prison Queens, Airforce Falcons, and Genius Sisters, will represent the region at the national finals of the One Nico Top 12 Netball Cup.
This follows a two-day playoff event held at Cobbe Barracks in Zomba, where the three teams performed well to secure a spot in the final of the competition.
Prison Queens secured their place with a convincing win, beating Airforce Falcons 51-47 in a tightly contested final to win the Eastern Region title and a K1 million prize.
Genius Sisters finished the third and final qualifying spot after edging Malawi Maritine Force (MMF) Marine Queens 33-30 in another highly contested affair.
The three teams will join Southern Region giants Kukoma Diamonds, Digressed and Blantyre Tremors, who qualified for the national finals in the Blantyre playoffs.
Speaking after the finals, Prison Queens Coach Chisomo Kantuliro attributed their victory to discipline and teamwork.
“It was a tough match, but the girls stayed focused and fought until the final whistle. We were trailing in the first and second quarters, but the girls showed resilience. I am proud of how they handled the pressure,” he said.
His counterpart, Air Force Falcons Coach Besten Zanda, also praised his team despite falling short in the final.
“We gave it our all, and I am proud of the girls. They played their hearts out. Qualifying for the nationals is a big achievement, and we will go back, work on our weaknesses, and come back stronger in Lilongwe,” he said.
NICO Holdings Corporate Affairs Manager, Mbumba Mlia Ndasauka, said she was satisfied with the level of competition and talent showcased during the playoffs.
“This has indeed been a successful activity and I believe that at the end of this tournament, we will be able to pick a few ladies that can be trained further for the national team,” she said
Ndasauka said NICO’s sponsorship is designed to uplift netball from the grassroots level.
“For us, we felt that netball is one of the key sports in the country that has been putting Malawi on the global map. So we felt that we should support netball and uplift it further. We also felt that we could not just support the national team (the queens) at that high level… we needed to go down to the grassroots so that we don’t create a gap,” she said.
She also added that the competition has offered a good platform for the company to explain their services to both players and supporters
In her remarks, the Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) President Vitumbiko Gubuduza described the tournament as a timely intervention in efforts to revitalise netball in the country
“The tournament gives upcoming players the platform and exposure we never had when we were starting out,” she said.
The One NICO Top 12 Netball Cup is part of a K1 billion sponsorship package from NICO Group spread over three years, with K60 million allocated to this year’s tournament, reaffirming the company’s commitment to the growth of netball in Malawi.
The competition now shifts to the Central and Northern regions, where top teams will vie for the remaining slots ahead of the national showdown slated for next month in Lilongwe.
