Windhoek
Namibia’s U/21 netball team will today leave for Gaborone, Botswana to participate in the upcoming International Netball Federation (INF) World Youth Cup qualifiers, officially kicking off this Sunday at the newly-constructed UB Sports Dome.
Namibia will vie for a perfect finish along with hosts Botswana, and Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The qualifiers will determine which three African countries will join Botswana at next year’s Netball World Youth Cup, which will also be hosted in Botswana.
Speaking at a well-attended send-off ceremony hosted by the Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) in the capital on Tuesday, Netball Namibia president Lydia Mutenda assured the nation that the girls from the land of the brave are ready and have prepared well for the qualifiers.
Mutenda added that besides having gone through an extensive preparatory period, the squad also boasts great experience with most of the girls having represented their country internationally, while a handful also ply their trade with leading netball clubs in the domestic league.
On his part, NSC chairperson Joel Matheus expressed confidence in the girls, saying they have what it takes to make the country proud at the qualifiers – hence they should play as a team and equally give it their all when on the court.
“Most importantly, please maintain high standards of sportsmanship at all times as any wrongdoings on or off the court would put the country’s name in shame – so let’s remain focused on our goal of winning games rather than negative activities. Should you guys commit many transgressions that would draw bad publicity, the people will not say it was who, who and who … but they will say it was a Namibian player, so let’s behave and enjoy the games,” said Matheus.