By Twimepoki Mangani
Lilongwe, March 25 Mana: Basketball Association of Malawi (BASMAL) has said National Championship will be played from April 1-2, 2022 at the Blue Gym in Lilongwe after a five-year break.
The National Championships were last played in 2017 and have since been absconded due to lack of sponsorship.
However, after extensive work and efforts by BASMAL the National final returns in emphatic fashion accommodating teams across all the three zones namely Southern Zone Basketball (SOZOBAL), Central Zone Basketball (CEZOBAL) and Northern Zone Basketball (NOZOBAL).
In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Friday in Lilongwe, Director of Marketing and Resource Mobilization, Blena Chisenga said BASMAL had to think beyond to ensure that they have the funds to revamp the long-awaited National Championship.
“We have not had the National Championship because we did not have proper funds, so we thought outside the box and organized fundraising activities so that when sponsors come in they would just add on to what we have started.”
Chisenga added, “It is a great stage for players in Malawi, because their talent gets exposed to the nation, apart from that the winners get to play in zone 6 games which in turn ensures that the sport is developed further in the country and it is an opportunity for coaches to identify players who can make it into the national team.”
The Director outlined that the fund-raising activities which BASMAL had planned earlier to ensure the championship runs successfully and urged sponsors to assist the basketball fraternity.
“We had three fund raising activities, first was a cooperate tournament in which we wanted to raise K 2 million but raised K 1.9 million, the second was a match dubbed Team Malawi v Team International where we raised K1 million. Lastly it was the selling of merchandise and our budget is K 5 million. We still have a short fall which we hope to cover by the time the national start,” he said.
An active veteran of Cougars Basketball Club, Limbani ‘Flax’ Yatina said the players are excited that the championships are back because it was the ultimate competition in the country and ensures international esteem.
“It brings a new level of excitement for us because you get to compete against the best players from all the leagues countrywide,” he said.
“The fact that a player is competing at national level builds self-esteem and the nationals encourages teams to work hard knowing there is something bigger to work for,” Yatina added.
He said was glad to be participating in the nationals though he was aging, encouraging the younger crop of players to continue working hard.
“I am an aged veteran now even though I am glad I still play at a high level but I feel it is about the younger players at the moment,” the veteran said.
BASMAL have laid a foundation and they hope to have national tournaments every year going forward but sustainably need stakeholder’s involvement for this to be a long-term solution.
Participating in the men’s championship are Poly Bob Cats, Bricks and Crazy Warriors from the southern Region while Bravehearts, Central Knights and an unannounced team will represent the Central Zone while Moyale and Nkhulande will come from Mzuzu zone.
In the women category are Bravehearts ladies, Kukoma Eagles, Mikoko Mystics, University of Lilongwe Arkangels and Kuhes Ganglions.
