Netball Victoria is delighted to confirm that Netball Mainland have signed Malawi Queens star goal shooter Mwai Kumwenda to the Tactix roster for the 2014 ANZ Championship season.
Kumwenda is creating history for the African nation, becoming the first player from Malawi to play in the ANZ Championship.
Kumwenda has been playing in the Devine Victorian Netball League competition in Australia for the past three seasons with the Peninsula Waves after being spotted at the World Youth Netball Championships in the Cook Islands in 2009 where she shot at an impressive 93 per cent accuracy.
The 24 year old has been part of the Malawi Queens line-up since 2010 representing her country at the Commonwealth Games (2010) and World Netball Championships (2011). She was named Player of the Tournament at the 2010 FastNet World Netball Series in England.
The 183cm shooter created history this year by becoming the first international player to win the Australian Netball League’s Most Valuable Player award in her debut season with the Victorian Fury and is the second international signing for the Tactix, with English mid-courter Jade Clarke re-signing for another season with the Mainland franchise.
Kumwenda shot 461 goals at 95.4 per cent accuracy for the season to break the previous total of 370 set in 2010.
Thrilled to be given the opportunity to compete at the ANZ Championship level, Kumwenda is extremely excited to be joining the Tactix in 2014.
“I am looking forward to meeting new people and playing at the highest level in the world, it is a great honour for me. My dream has come true . I feel very lucky and I hope I will play to my best ability for the Tactix,” Kumwenda said.
“I like winning and I hope I can help the Tactix to win and maybe play in finals. I will be playing with very good teammates. I have had good coaches and they have helped me to play at a high standard and I have worked very hard to get to this level.”
Mainland CEO Brigit Hearn says she’s over the moon about securing one of netball’s rising stars.
“Mwai is an exciting, dynamic player and we know she’ll be a fantastic addition to the Tactix team.”
“She has a different playing style to what we’re used to, and we see that as a real positive as we continue to build and develop the Tactix into an extremely competitive side.”
“We know Mwai will fit right in and help take us there,” Hearn said.
Kumwenda will be a key part of the Malawi Queens team for the upcoming Test matches against the Silver Ferns and the Australian Diamonds in October and the Fast5 Netball World Series in Auckland in November.
