THE Tanzania Netball Association (Chaneta) is likely to miss the opportunity to engage Australian coach Simone McKinnis for dilly-dallying to confirm her appointment.
McKinnis was recommended by Chaneta early this year after a thorough search conducted with the help of the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA).
However, about three months have elapsed since the Australian was notified that she had been earmarked for the job and has been vainly waiting for confirmation.
Informed sources have it that McKinnis resigned from her position as Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and Australian U-21 netball coach in February and had planned to arrive in Dar es Salaam on April 17 to take up the role of Tanzania national coach.
“McKinnis has been left in the dark and has heard nothing from the Tanzania government since then,” a source close to the Australian coach told THISDAY last week.
“She is totally frustrated and is contemplating to find employment elsewhere.”
President Jakaya Kikwete has offered to employ an expatriate coach for the national netball team, Taifa Queens, to compliment Chaneta's efforts to boost participation and promote the game across the country.
The president has committed the government to paying the coach’s salary and living expenses.
The Ministry of Information, Culture and Sports sought the president's go ahead to recruit McKinnis soon after receiving Chaneta's recommendations.
But the State House has not responded so far.
“We submitted Chaneta's recommendations to President Kikwete long time ago and we're still waiting for a response,” said a senior ministry official, who preferred anonymity.
McKinnis, the former legend of Australian netball, has focused in her new job on the development of the national programme with specific emphasis on the progress of the Taifa Queens.
She represented Australia in 67 tests between 1986 and 1998 winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1998 and World Championships in 1991 and 1995.
Australia's media reported recently that McKinnis had a huge impact at the AIS since her appointment in 2007 and ultimately leading the Australian U-21 team to victory at the 2009 World Youth Netball Championship in the Cook Islands.
“Simone was exceptional in her role as coach of the AIS netball programme and the Australian U-21 team and we thank her for her work over the past three years,” Netball Australia General Manager of High Performance Natalie Wright-Boyd was quoted as saying after receiving McKinnis' resignation.
“The progression of our emerging high performance athletes to prepare for challenges of international competition has been outstanding through her guidance and this was evident in the achievement of the Australian U-21 team winning the 2009 World Youth Netball Championship.
“This role with Tanzania will be an exciting and challenging one and we wish Simone all the best in this important position of developing netball in other countries. “
Paying tribute to the outstanding contribution that McKinnis had made to both the Institute and Australian U-21 netball programmes, Acting AIS Director Phil Borgeaud said:
“Simone has done a wonderful job as head coach of both programmes. For the past three years she has played an integral part in the development of Australia’s best young netball players.
“The Australian U-21 team won gold at last year’s World Cup with half of the squad members being AIS scholarship holders.
“Simone has proven to be a coach of immeasurable talent and we wish her all the best in her new coaching appointment with Tanzania.”
The AIS Netball Programme, which was established as one of the eight foundation sports at the Institute in 1981, is highly regarded as a world class development programme.
Meanwhile, Taifa Queens returned home yesterday from a two-week training tour to England and Scotland.
Chaneta chairperson Anna Bayi said the team spent a week each in Manchester and Scotland to prepare for the second edition of the Tanzania International Netball Tournament scheduled for July in Dar es Salaam.
The tournament, which is aimed at improving the game, is one of IFNA's five-year plan of making many local Tanzanians familiarize with netball.
Currently ranked 22nd in the world and fourth in Africa, Tanzania aims to be among the top 15 teams in the world by year 2012.