WINDHOEK – A 12-member national senior netball team departed for Gaborone, Botswana last Friday, to compete in the 2015 Netball World Cup qualifiers, which got underway in the Botswana capital Gaborone, yesterday.
Namibia is pitted alongside hosts Botswana, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya in the 7-day qualifying tourney with the top two nations going through to the finals of the global showpiece to be hosted by Australia in August next year.
Namibia open their assault against Swaziland later today.
The third-placed team from the eight-nation tourney will earn a trip down under to Australia to participate in the developmental games during the same time period. The Namibians have been training hard over the last couple of weeks in preparation for the African group qualifiers.
Addressing the travelling entourage before departure during a send-off ceremony in Windhoek last Thursday, President of the National Olympic Committee (NNOC), Agnes Tjongarero, urged the players to compete as a team and not as individuals.
“I have never watched you play and cannot say how good you are, but all I will tell you is please, when you are in Botswana, compete as if this were your last chance. There are 1 000 netballers in the country who could have taken the position you currently have, but you were the selected lucky ones and you should represent the country with pride and play as a team,” she said.
Tjongarero, a former ace tennis player and astute netball administrator, added that the level of competition is nowadays very tough in these high-profile tournaments.
“We are lucky in the sense that we don’t have to compete against the best teams on the African continent, namely South Africa and Malawi at this championship, but that does not mean we are going to find weaker opponents either. African teams are physically strong and we need to be strong too,” she said.
Netball Namibia Public Relations Officer, Rebekka /Goagoses-Nekundi, told Nampa before departure that the players are in high spirits and ready to compete. She said the trip was almost cancelled because of a lack of funds but with the help of CIC Trade Promoters, Virgin Active, Smart Embroidery, USN Namibia, Zinplex Namibia, Pharm Dynamics, Amushe Printing, the Namibia Diamond Trading Company, the De Beers Group, All Namibia Group Embroidery and Wanderers Catering, the team would be ready to ruffle feathers without any hindrance. – Nampa