Asian netball event: India, Sri Lanka confirm participation

Maldives, Nepal yet to give go-ahead due to lack of sponsors.

KARACHI:

India and Sri Lanka have confirmed their participation in the 2nd South Asian Men Netball Championship 2014, while Maldives and Nepal are in search of sponsors, informed Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF) Secretary General Mudassar Arain.

“India and Sri Lanka will be taking part in the championship as they have sent the official letter to the PNF, while Maldives and Nepal are still looking for sponsors for the trip,” Arain told The Express Tribune.

According to the official, both India and Sri Lanka have announced their squads, comprising 12 players each, while four officials from India and five from Sri Lanka will be attending the event.

“I have also asked Maldives and Nepal to bring at least seven players and one official if they cannot afford more. They have agreed to this and will hopefully confirm soon.”

While speaking on the matter of funds required for organising the event, he said, “The federation has decided to bear all the expenses from boarding to food for all the participating countries, and for this we need funds.

“The PNF has requested the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) to provide a minimum amount of Rs2.5 million instead of Rs3.5 million, as the promised amount by the board of Rs1 million is not enough to organise such a big event,” he explained.

“We will organise the event according to the available funds. The more funds we have, the more colour we will be able to add to it.”

Arain further stated that the federation was trying to get sponsors, which had been a problem earlier due to the holdup in the participation of international teams.

“Many companies have contacted us just after the confirmation of India and Sri Lanka, so hopefully we will be able to ease our concerns regarding the expenses.”

The South Asian Men Netball Championship 2014 to schedule to start from June 23-26 at the Liaquat Gymnasium, PSB Sports Complex, Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2014.

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