By MWANGALA LISELI? –
ZAMBIA risks missing out from competing at the Sydney 2015 Netball World Championship after failing to raise funds to pay for accommodation and other expenses needed before the tournament kicks off in August.
Netball Association of Zambia (NAZ) general secretary Pritchard Ngoma said the national team might not take part at the World Cup because the association had not even managed to raise half of the K1.8 million budget.
Ngoma said NAZ was supposed to contribute K300, 000 to the International Netball Association (INF) towards the accommodation for the team but had only managed to pay K35, 000.
He said there was also need to buy and brand uniforms for the international events which would cost the association K140, 000.
Ngoma said the team might not even attend the Diamond Challenge in South Africa which had a budget of K50, 000 and the Africa Cup that would see NAZ needing K100, 000 to compete at event.
He said the country risked being sanctioned if it missed the World Cup as it already had failed to host the Africa Cup which had been moved to Namibia next month.??“We don’t have money and we are not sure how we will go to the World Cup, Africa Cup and even the Diamond Challenge.  If we don’t go to the World Cup, we may be fined heavily as we already failed to host the Africa Cup. We appreciate what we are receiving but we are still far from meeting the budget,” he said.
Ngoma said it was better need to use a plane than a bus when travelling to South Africa for the Diamond Challenge because it would be easier to connect to Windhoek for the Africa Cup.