The main sponsors of the Namibia Netball Premier League (NNPL), Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), has called on other corporates to rally behind netball in Namibia to improve the quality of the game.

Speaking at the prize handover ceremony on Saturday, MTC’s Corporate Communications Practitioner, Fikameni Mathias, said local netball can only be competitive if there are continuous competitions.

“As sponsors, we are proud of our investment in the girl child as through the sponsorships, netball matches were taken to all four corners of the country. We are therefore calling on other corporates to come on board and support the feeder league (first divisions),” he said.

His views were echoed by NN Secretary General, Imelda Nerongo, who said she was looking forward to the four teams that will be promoted from the first divisions with the hope that they will be very competitive, in order to avoid one-sided matches.

“The teams that are coming in should try and reach the levels we saw this season. We do not want big disparities between the teams. Regions should help the team to be competitive,” she said.

She added that the first division can only become strong if sponsors invest, the same way MTC had invested in the first division.

Nerongo said they want to see younger players joining premier league teams, while also promising an improvement of the league’s administration.

Meanwhile, Chief Administrator of the Namibia Sports Commission, Freddy Mwiya, said through the sponsorship from MTC, netball is now recognised as one of the three National Sports Codes in Namibia.

The 2022 MTC NNPL concluded on Saturday, with Mighty Gunners crowned as champions, while Grootfontein, Northern Flyballers, Blue Waters and Young Stars were relegated to their respective regional first divisions.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency