Battle lines drawn in Airtel Money regional finals
Fireworks are expected at netball courts in Blantyre, Zomba, Lilongwe and Mzuzu this weekend during regional finals of Airtel Money Netball Championships.
According to Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) general secretary Carol Bapu, 18 Southern Region teams will meet during a two-day contest at Blantyre Youth Centre (BYC) on Saturday.
She said Zomba Airwing Netball Court will host Eastern Region’s 12-team combat while Blue Eagles Netball Court at Nankhaka in Lilongwe will be the battleground for 20 Central Region outfits. Northern Region’s 15 teams will face off at Rosedale Court in Mzuzu.
Regional champions and runners-up will get K1 million (US$2 457) and K500 000 (US$1 229) respectively in addition to qualifying for national finals at a yet-to-be-identified venue in Lilongwe on April 13 and 14. Losing semi-finalists will each receive K250 000 (US$614).
“This will be a busy and exciting weekend for netball lovers in the country,” said Bapu.
Airtel Malawi, which announced a three-year K360 million (US$884 521) netball sponsorship in October last year, has allocated K11.2 million (US$27 518.4) for this year’s regional finals.
The competition started at district level in November with 491 registered teams.
