Gems off for African Netball Champs

THE Zimbabwe senior netball team left the county yesterday ahead of the Africa Netball Championships taking place in Botswana from tomorrow to December 6, 2023.

The competition is expected to draw the top netball players from across the continent, including Botswana, South Africa, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Burundi.

The Zimbabwe Netball Association expressed gratitude to their sponsors who made the trip to Botswana possible.

“The Zimbabwe Netball Association (Zina) would like to thank the tournament’s platinum sponsor, who has been with us since the beginning. Nedbank has offered significant financial support to our players in order to get them to the World Cup and to enable them to be the best players they can be. They have once again financed our team for the Africa National Championships,” read a statement from Zina.

Spar has also chipped in to assist the Gems.

“We also thank Spar Zimbabwe for taking care of the camp accommodation fees and National Foods for providing the girls with food throughout their stay. All of these partnerships have been very beneficial to the senior team, and we are thankful to each and every one of them. We also appreciate the support provided by SRC and ZOC, as well as our parent ministry, the Ministry of Youth, Sports.”

This year marks the 13th edition of the Africa Netball Championships, also known as the Africa Netball Cup.

Teams from all around Africa will compete for the top spot in this netball championship held every two years.

This will be the Gems’ first competition since the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town, where they finished 13th.

Given that the Gems are ranked fourth on the continent, the team will be among the favourites in this competition and have worked hard to prepare for a podium finish.

Netball’s popularity has grown in the country not only among spectators and players, but also within the corporate sector.