Eagles Sisters win One Nico Top 12 after beating Diamonds, pocket MK5 Million

Blue Eagles Sisters were crowned champions of the inaugural One Nico Top 12 Netball Championship after overcoming Blantyre giants Kukoma Diamonds 37-29 in a thrilling encounter at Don Bosco Netball courts.

The final round of the tournament, which started on Friday, brought together 12 teams—three from each region of the country. Competition began with group stages where the top two teams from each group progressed to the quarterfinals.

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In the semifinals, Diamonds beat Civonets in a tight battle that ended 37-34, while Blue Eagles were 62-37 winners over Tigresses.

Following their championship victory, Eagles took the title while Kukoma Diamonds finished as runners-up. Civonets claimed third place after beating Tigresses 53-34 in the third-place playoff.

Speaking after the game, Madano Mthepheya, Head Coach for Blue Eagles Sisters, said he was delighted to be the first coach to win the tournament.

“All the teams were fighting hard to win the tournament, but in the end we are the winners and I’m very happy to be the first coach to win this tournament. Most of our players are young, with few older players compared to our opponents. We were able to play faster, attacking netball,” he said.

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Netball Association of Malawi President Vitumbiko Gubuduza praised the quality of competition on display.

“The tournament has been very exciting and we have watched beautiful games. People were able to watch good matches and at the same time they were learning financial planning through One Nico Group of companies.

“We are happy with Nico because funding is always a struggle in Malawi, but we are excited with the support from our sponsors. It’s good to get this kind of partnership because they will really improve netball.

“We need sponsors to beef up leagues in the regions. We don’t have a league in the Eastern region and some teams are lacking sponsors. If you look at Blue Eagles and Kukoma Diamonds, they have good sponsorships and that’s why they are doing well. There are teams with talent that are facing a financial crisis. We appeal to companies to reach out to us and start supporting these teams to develop our game.

“We have seen improved talent and improved play from our players in this tournament. When we said we have a plan, we meant that we want to rebuild our game. This tournament has helped us in scouting talented and tall players—we are really excited. They are supporting the teams and also our national teams.”

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Mbumba Mlia Ndasauka, one of the representatives from the Nico Group of Companies, said the tournament had been successful.

“We are happy with how the tournament has gone and we will be coming back bigger next season. We are looking forward to this tournament. We appeal to teams to register in their regions to participate in this tournament.

“We are satisfied with the tournament because our main goal was to develop netball and we have tried to develop it. We want to promote netball and also improve their financial lives, and we believe that they have learned something which will help them. It has been a great game plan and our plan has really worked,” she said.

Mary Waya from the Ministry of Youth and Sports praised One Nico Group of companies for investing in the netball game.

“The rebuilding of the Queens starts with this tournament, which reached all the districts where talented and tall players were being scouted. We want companies to take on teams in regions to develop the game,” she said.

“Eagles win big”

For winning the tournament, Blue Eagles pocketed MK5 million while Kukoma Diamonds received MK3.5 million. Civonets earned MK2.5 million for finishing third, while Tigresses walked away with MK1.5 million.

Nico Holdings plc in October last year unveiled a K1 billion three-year sponsorship for the Malawi Queens and the Nico Top 12 National Netball Cup to run between 2024 and 2027.

The sponsorship, whose biggest portion is going towards Queens’ activities, have also seen the financial services group launching a locally designed and produced new kit for the Malawi National Netball Team.

During the unveiling ceremony at Protea Hotel By Marriott Blantyre Ryalls, the group’s managing director Vizenge Kumwenda said they would inject K320 million in the first year, K330 million in the second year, and K350 million in the third year.