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Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
AS the countdown to the 2023 Vitality Netball World Cup continues, Gems vice-captain Claris Kwaramba says they are making positive progress in their preparations.
Kwaramba said with the event getting closer by the day, they now need to step up their build-up as they approach the final stages of the preparations.
Yesterday marked 100 days to go before the Vitality Netball World Cup 2023 roars into life in Cape Town, South Africa.
“We no longer have much time to prepare. I think we are now supposed to be working on the final touches. We keep working and giving it our all.
“Yes we are making progress. I think we are almost ready and I think we are left with just a few things to work on,” said Kwaramba.
The senior national team just concluded a month-long camp in Harare this week and will be hoping to regroup soon to step up their preparations.
Gems coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki described the recent camp as a success.
“It was a very successful camp because I think we achieved our targets. We were concerned with our midfield but right now it’s looking promising. There were positives during this camp.
“Looking at the foreign-based players we are expecting to join us, most of them are not mid-court players, they play defence and shooting. So for this camp we were working more on the mid-court because that’s where we were lacking. But we noticed some positive changes,” said Mutsauki.
However, he emphasised the need for friendly games before they leave for South Africa.
Zimbabwe will be among the 16 countries set to compete in the global event that is due to run from July 28 to August 6.
The first stage of the tournament will commence on July 28 with teams competing in a round-robin format in the pools.
Zimbabwe, drawn in Pool A, will face powerhouses Australia, Tonga and Fiji in the preliminary stages.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Netball Association are tomorrow expected to sign a partnership deal with Nedbank Zimbabwe for their journey to the 2023 World Cup.
The official signing ceremony of the partnership is scheduled to take place at Stodart Netball Complex in Mbare.
“The launch will take place on the 21st of April 2023 at Stodart Netball Complex in Mbare at 11:30am. Nedbank will be joining us on our journey to Cape town for the Netball World Cup as our main sponsor.
“This signing ceremony with Nedbank marks the beginning of the journey to the epic games as we seek to qualify for round two, all the way to the finals,” said project manager Maimba Mapuranga.
Zimbabwe will be making their second successive appearance at the tournament.
Online Reporter