Netball row grows at continental level

The Confederation of African Netball Association (CANA) has continued to win approval by the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa (SCSA) at the end of the netball conference held in Maputo last week.

The conference was attended by delegates from Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, Zambia and the host nation.

The resolution was passed that CANA is authorised to organize netball activities in the continent and has a mandate to all fairs relating to netball activities across the continent.

The meeting was also attended by netball secretaries from sports zone 1, 3 and 6 and Government representatives from the above named countries.

Tanzania was represented by acting secretary general of Zanzibar netball association, CHANEZA, Rahima Bakari Abdi.

CANA has been given a go ahead to organize and moderate netball activities in the forthcoming All African Games to be held in Mozambique next year.

However, the International Federation of Netball Association, IFNA, has always turned its back on approving CANA as the sole and legally accepted netball authority for the continent.

According to Bakari, SCSA invited IFNA and all African countries who play netball to attend the meeting but IFNA officials were no show for undisclosed reasons.

Bakari said the meeting came into agreement that netball should be made a more competing sport at the next All African Games in Mozambique.

Bakari said the meeting resolved that African countries should abide to CANA regulations and leave alone the pending dispute between IFNA and CANA.

The tussle for netball supremacy in the continent has left IFNA in deep cooperation with Confederation Southern African Netball Associations (COSANA) which is at loggerheads with CANA.

She said as the best way to save netball from the prevailing crisis between CANA and IFNA, SCSA has asked Namibian sports minister to open up discussions with IFNA and report the outcome of the meeting in the next African Sports Ministers Conference slated for Maputo in December.

However, SCSA is still determined to convene a mediation conference where IFNA, CANA and all chairpersons of netball federations in Africa will be invited to attend.

Date and place of the meeting will be announced later.

However, efforts to contact officials of the netball association of Tanzania, CHANETA, chairperson Anna bayi and her assistant secretary Rose Mkisi failed to materialise as the duo never responded to telephone calls.

Bayi and Mkisi were supposed to comment whether Bakari represented both CHANEZA and CHANETA in the Maputo conference or not.

While IFNA and CANA are rubbing shoulders with regard to supremacy, CHANETA and CHANEZA have also revived their rivalry with either side going solo in netball affairs.