Malawi national netball team

The Malawi national netball team, nicknamed "The Queens", represent Malawi in international netball competitions.

Malawi
Nickname(s)Queens
AssociationNetball Association of Malawi
ConfederationAfrica Netball
CaptainJane Chimaliro
World ranking6 Increase
Team colours
Team colours
Alternate
Alternate
Netball World Cup
2019 placing6th
Best result5th (2007)
Commonwealth Games
2018 placing7th
Best result5th (2010), (2014)

History

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Malawi have played in six World Netball Championships, famously finishing fifth in 2007.[1] The Queens are coached by Peace Chawinga Kalua who replaced Whyte Mlilima, who was appointed as caretaker head coach after former coach late Griffin Saenda had to withdraw from the team on medical grounds.[2] As of November 2022,[3] the team are sixth[3] on the World Netball Rankings.

In 2012 they competed in the Fast5 tournament in Auckland, where they have had several historic results including wins over Australia and England, and finished in 5th place, just narrowly missing out on the finals. This followed a draw against Australia in the 2010 Edition. Airtel Malawi is a significant financial donor of the Malawi Queens, having sponsored their trip to Auckland for the Fast5 World Series in 2014 to a sum of K6 M.[4] The current Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) president is Abigail Shariff.

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Malawi defeated the second-ranked team in the world, New Zealand, for the first time in history.[5]

In 2022, Malawi Competed at the Commonwealth Games, in Birmingham. By virtue of its position in the World Netball Rankings (as of 28 July 2021), Malawi qualified for the tournament. Partial fixtures were announced in November 2021, then updated with the remaining qualifiers in March 2022. Malawi finished fourth in their group at the competition behind hosts England, New Zealand and Uganda.

In 2023, Malawi took part in the Netball World Cup in Cape Town. Malawi finished second in Group B, winning matches against Scotland and Barbados to qualify for the second round. In the second round in Group F, Malawi won further matches against Tonga and Fiji and finished third in the group behind England and Australia, thus failing to proceed to the knockout section of the tournament. Following placement matches, Malawi finished 7th in the tournament. Joyce Mvula was the team's highest goal scorer, and the fourth highest overall in the tournament, with 194 goals.

Players

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2023 Netball World Cup Roster

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Jane Chimaliro (Captain), Martha Dambo, Thandi Galeta, Mwai Kumwenda, Takondwa Lwazi, Madalitso Mkandawire, Caroline Mtukule, Joyce Mvula, Grace Mwafulirwa, Lauren Ngwira, Sindi Simtowe, Towera Vinkhumbo.

Reserves: Shabel Bengo, Salome Nkhom, Mma Lepona Manyonyoba

Coach: Sam Kanyenda

Notable past players

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Competitive history

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Netball World Cup
Year Championship Location Placing
1995 9th World Championships Birmingham, England 8th
1999 10th World Championships Christchurch, New Zealand 11th
2003 11th World Championships Kingston, Jamaica DNQ
2007 12th World Championships Auckland, New Zealand 5th
2011 13th World Championships Singapore 6th
2015 14th World Cup Sydney, Australia 6th
2019 15th World Cup Liverpool, England 6th
2023 16th World Cup Cape Town, South Africa 7th
Netball at the Commonwealth Games
Year Games Event Location Placing
2006 XVIII Games 3rd Netball Melbourne, Australia 6th
2010 XIX Games 4th Netball Delhi, India 5th
2014 XX Games 5th Netball Glasgow, Scotland 5th
2018 XXI Games 6th Netball Gold Coast, Australia 7th
2022 XXII Games 7th Netball Birmingham, Australia 7th
World Netball Series
Year Championship Location Placing
2009 1st World Series Manchester, England 5th
2010 2nd World Series Manchester, England 5th
2011 3rd World Series Liverpool, England DNQ
2012 4th World Series Auckland, New Zealand 5th
2013 5th World Series Auckland, New Zealand 5th
2014 6th World Series Auckland, New Zealand 6th
2016 7th World Series Melbourne, Australia   3rd
2017 8th World Series Melbourne, Australia 6th
2018 9th World Series Melbourne, Australia 4th
2022 10th World Series Melbourne, Australia DNQ

[6]

References

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  1. ^ Gay, Edward (17 November 2007). "Jubilant Malawi finish fifth". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  2. ^ Mbewe, Chipambano (18 March 2018). "Malawi Queens depart without head coach Saenda: NAM appoints Mlilima as caretaker". Nyasa Times. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b Malidadi, Mphatso (23 November 2022). "Queens move 6th in world, displace Uganda". Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Face of Malawi, Oct 29, 2014". Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Minnows Malawi shock Silver Ferns to leave New Zealand in danger of missing Commonwealth Games glory". News.com.au. 8 April 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  6. ^ NZ Yahoo Sports

6. Malidadi, Mphatso (29 November 2022). https://times.mw/nam-yet-to-pick-queens-assistant-coach/?amp=1