The Southern Africa Netball Associations’ (Cosana) Club Championships are set to take place from this Thursday, 22 May until Sunday, 26 May at the Israel Patrick Iyambo Police Courts in Olympia, Windhoek.

The regional club tournament makes its long-awaited return after a 20-year hiatus, and will feature 11 top netball clubs from across Southern Africa, including teams from host nation Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Lesotho.

Groupings for the tournament are as follows: Pool A: Wanderers Netball Club (Namibia), Namibia Correctional Services (Namibia), Maun Heroes NC (Botswana), Jwaneng NC (Botswana), Makate High Flyers (Zimbabwe), and Royal Flames (Eswatini).

Pool B will feature Namibian Navy NC (Namibia), Mighty Gunners NC (Namibia), BDF Cats NC (Botswana), Lesotho Correctional Services NC (Lesotho), and ZDF Queens NC (Zimbabwe).

Cosana secretary general Imelda Nerongo said preparations are progressing well, as the hosts get ready to welcome the visiting teams. “Eswatini has already arrived, while the other teams are still en route. We hope spectators will come out in numbers to support the matches,” she added. Nerongo said details regarding prize money will be communicated at a later stage.

Cosana president Letitia Chipandu expressed her enthusiasm about the return of the tournament. “I am very excited to have this tournament back after such a long dry spell. Events like this help make the region more competitive, and increase the chances of more countries qualifying for the Netball World Cup and improving their world rankings,” she said.

Chipandu further highlighted that Cosana has historically succeeded in sending up to three African countries to compete at either junior or senior Netball World Championships. -lmupetami@nepc.com.na