Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
FOLLOWING their participation at the Celtic Cup tournament in Scotland last week, Zimbabwe have moved a rung up on World Netball rankings.
The Gems went up to 12th place amid indications that the latest ratings factored in results from all international matches played since March 1 up to December 1, 2025.
Australia remain the world’s best team.
They are followed by New Zealand and Caribbean Islands heavyweights Jamaica, England, South Africa, Uganda, Wales, Malawi, Tonga and Scotland in the top 10, while Trinidad and Tobago are now just a place above Zimbabwe.
There were more movements in the top 12 with Wales slipping to seventh and swapping places with Uganda.
Ironically the Ugandans defeated the Welsh Feathers 70-48 on the final day of the Celtic Cup to claim gold.
The Gems also displaced Northern Ireland forcing “The Warriors” to slip two positions down the pecking order to 14th and behind 13th-placed Samoa.
Following a dismal performance at the tournament, Namibia also slid one place down to 16 with 77 points, the same as Zambia, who, however, enjoy a superior goal difference.
The place gained up the ladder has thrilled coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki.
“We are thrilled and excited that we managed to improve our rankings; we had set ourselves a target because this is what we have been praying for in a very long time and I am happy that we delivered,” said Mutsauki.
“It shows that we are not bad as a netball-playing nation, and it also speaks volumes about our rebuilding efforts.”
After the invitational tournament, which was also used as ranking games, the Gems who have 89 points have played 45 games, while only 32 of those have been weighted.
The number of points earned by a team for any match depends on two factors, which are the result (won, drawn, lost) and the opponent against whom the result was achieved.
In this regard, the higher an opponent’s rating the more points are earned for beating them.
After beating a then higher-ranked Northern Ireland 54-46, Mutsauki’s charges earned themselves important points, which catapulted them up the rankings.
“Now that we have improved our position, we need to avoid dropping points by averting defeat to lower-ranked nations because that can see us slip down the ladder,” added Mutsauki.
“This means that we have to work harder and be able to continue challenging the higher-ranked nations.
“In the past, we have not been getting invitations to most ranking games but I believe that the more we rise, the more we get recognised for such tournaments.
“The good thing is that we now have some financial backing and have the freedom to participate more frequently in such games, further we are now able to hold periodic camps and continue to perfect our team.”
The biggest rankings jump came from Canada who moved up 17 places from 47th to 30th following their recent success in the Battle of the Isles.
Guadeloupe just joined the rankings, now sitting at joint 50th position together with Chinese Taipei, Dominica and Singapore having now played the minimum number of games required (eight games).
The current top six World Netball-ranked nations automatically qualify to compete at the Netball World Cup in Sydney, Australia in 2027. To determine the remaining 10 nations to participate at the 16-team World Cup tourney, five regional qualifiers will take place in 2026.
The top two nations from each qualifier will earn a slot to compete at the World Cup, which is set to take place between August 25 and September 5, 2027.
“Our aim is to continue pushing hard so that someday we sit at a position that earns us automatic qualification to the World Cup . . . with hard work, I am sure we can achieve it,” added Mutsauki.
