Malawi: Committees Lament Prize-Less Pool Tourney At Regional Level

By Phillip Pasula

After years without sponsorship for a national pool tournament, teams across the country's four regions have begun competing in the K36 million championship, courtesy of Castel Malawi Limited.

But despite the excitement of finally returning to national competition, regional committees say they are disappointed that no prizes have been allocated at regional level. This means teams that excel in their regions and qualify for the national finals will walk away with nothing.

Chairperson for the Northern Region Pool Chapter, Innocent Mandebvu, told Nyasa Times that teams in the north are unhappy with the arrangement, though they have chosen to proceed because the sport has lacked sponsorship for years.

"We expected prizes even at regional level. This has always been the case, but we have no other option. We will go on with the tournament because we have stayed for years without any national tournament," he said.

General Secretary for the Central Region Pool Chapter, Prince Manondo, echoed the frustration, describing the situation as an oversight that has hurt team morale.

"It's painful for the teams to fight for national qualification without any prize in the regions. We tried to reason with relevant authorities but we were told it's too late to change anything. We therefore accepted to move on since we have had no tournament of this nature for some years," said Manondo.

Reports from all four regions indicate that despite the concerns, regional games kicked off on Saturday on a high note.

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