Three teams— Prison Queens, Airforce Falcons and Genius—have qualified for this year’s One Nico Top 12 Netball Cup national finals, finishing as top-three teams in the Eastern Region play-off matches played at Wilson Square in Zomba on Sunday.

Queens retained their title after beating Falcons 55-33 in the final.

Genius secured their spot at the national finals following a 47-36 victory over Prison Reserve in the third-place playoffs.

Queens Assistant Coach Besten Zanda said the team was determined to improve on last year’s performance as they prepared for the national competition.

“We want to approach the competition differently after missing out on a possible podium finish last year,” Zanda said.

The three teams will join Southern Region representatives Kukoma Diamonds, Tigresses and Giants—alongside qualifiers from the Central and Northern regions— to complete the line-up for the national finals, which are scheduled for November 28 and 29 in Lilongwe.

Eastern Region Netball Committee Chairperson Stella Banda said the regional playoffs were important.

“The tournament is an important platform for raising netball standards, identifying emerging talent and giving players an opportunity to showcase their abilities against the best teams in the country,” Banda said.

One Nico Corporate Affairs Manager Mbumba Mlia Ndasauka said the tournament was designed to inspire young girls while developing netball talent in the country. “We believe that sport is a career. This tournament provides a platform to inspire young girls while developing a sustainable pipeline of netball talent in Malawi,”: Ndasauka said.

The tournament is part of the K1 billion sponsorship package from Nico Group.

The sponsorship package is spread over three years, with K75 million committed to this year’s competition.