By Edwin Mbewe
NAIROBI-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Queens have taken a major step towards securing a place at the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney, Australia, after making a perfect start to their Africa Netball Cup campaign in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Queens have won both of their opening matches in Pool 2 and will face Nigeria this afternoon knowing that another victory would strengthen their position in the race for one of Africa’s two remaining tickets to the global showpiece.
Malawi opened their campaign in impressive fashion on Saturday, 19 September, defeating Zambia 72-38 before producing another strong performance against hosts Kenya on Sunday, beating the home side 55-47.
The victory over Kenya was particularly significant as the Queens had to withstand a determined challenge from the hosts before pulling away to secure the seven-goal victory.
Malawi now face Nigeria at 4pm today, Monday, 21 September, at the Kasarani Indoor Arena.
Nigeria, competing with a newly established national team, have lost both of their opening matches. They went down 61-40 to hosts Kenya before suffering a 68-30 defeat against Uganda on Sunday.
However, the Queens cannot afford to underestimate the Nigerians as they continue their quest for a place at the 2027 World Cup.
Two World Cup places up for grabs
The 2026 Africa Netball Cup is also serving as the African qualifying tournament for the 2027 Netball World Cup.
Ten teams are taking part in the competition, with the women’s teams divided into two pools. Pool 1 consists of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and Tanzania, while Pool 2 features Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya and Nigeria.
South Africa and Uganda have already qualified for Sydney 2027 through their World Netball rankings. This leaves two additional qualification places to be decided in Nairobi. If either of the already-qualified teams finishes among the top two, the next eligible teams will take the available places.
Malawi currently occupy eighth position in the World Netball rankings and are the third-highest ranked African side, behind South Africa and Uganda.
A victory over Nigeria would therefore further enhance the Queens’ position as they chase a return to the World Cup.
Results so far
The opening two days of the tournament have produced some big results.
On Saturday, South Africa began their title defence with a commanding 90-22 victory over Tanzania, while Zimbabwe defeated Botswana 57-39.
Malawi also enjoyed a comfortable 72-38 victory over Zambia, while Kenya defeated Nigeria 61-40.
Sunday brought another busy programme.
Malawi defeated Kenya 55-47, while defending champions South Africa beat Zimbabwe 58-41. Namibia also recorded a 54-32 victory over Botswana, while Uganda overwhelmed Nigeria 68-30.
Africa Netball Cup results
Saturday, 19 September
- Tanzania 22-90 South Africa
- Malawi 72-38 Zambia
- Botswana 39-57 Zimbabwe
- Kenya 61-40 Nigeria
Sunday, 20 September
- Namibia 54-32 Botswana
- Malawi 55-47 Kenya
- South Africa 58-41 Zimbabwe
- Nigeria 30-68 Uganda
Queens eye another crucial victory
With two wins already secured, Malawi will be looking to maintain their unbeaten record against Nigeria before facing another major test against Uganda on Wednesday.
Uganda, ranked sixth in the world, are one of the strongest sides in the competition and have also already qualified for Sydney 2027 through the World Netball rankings.
The Queens’ immediate focus, however, is Nigeria.
Victory this afternoon would give Malawi three wins from three matches and put them in a commanding position heading into the final stages of the Nairobi competition.
The Africa Netball Cup and World Cup qualifying tournament runs from 19 to 26 September at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, with the qualification places for Sydney 2027 to be determined during the tournament’s final stages.
For the Malawi Queens, the road to Sydney is gathering momentum — and another win against Nigeria could bring them even closer to achieving their World Cup dream.
Meanwhile, Malawi Kings have lost all the two opening fixtures against the host, Kenya and Eswantini.
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