Joyce Mvula hails from David Momba Village in Mzimba, the northern region of Malawi. Starting her netball journey at primary school, she discovered a strong passion to netball, with her flair and determination leading her to snapping up a prestigious secondary school scholarship. Initially starring for the Blue Eagles Club, where she developed her raw talent, she was soon selected for the Malawi national netball team in 2010, where she played as part of the official national team and made an appearance in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
In 2017, Mvula first signed with Manchester Thunder, where she has been a crucial player to the team ever since, playing a pivotal role both on and off the court. Mvula is renowned for her strength, splits and flawless shooting accuracy, and her statistics from last season certainly backs that up. With 680 goals in 21 appearances (an average of over 32 goals per game) Mvula had an outstanding 92.52% shooting accuracy, so it’s obvious to see why they call her the Malawi Queen of shooting.
“I love Manchester Thunder because it’s the first club where I have played professionally. Being here has taught me a lot, and I am not the same player I was when I started in my first year here.”
“For Shadine [van der Merwe] and Nat [Haythornthwaite] to be here it is an honour for me to play with them as they are great players and I can’t wait to start training with everyone.”
“I’m looking forward to the home games because our [Manchester Thunder] fans give us energy when we need it. Also, the sound of the drums makes other teams nervous, so I can’t wait for that.”
Karen Greig, Manchester Thunder Head Coach, said:
“Our adopted Mancunian is back and I couldn’t be happier. The past 5 years with the club has seen Joyce grow and excel both on and off court. Last year we saw her develop her game yet again, with her movement, timing and distribution all enabling her and Thunder to work with different tactics. She is unstoppable when she is firing and I know how fired up she is to push on again this season and is hungry for success.”