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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter
GEMS captain Felisitus Kwangwa has returned to Correctional Queens for the upcoming season after being released by Surrey Storm at the end of the 2023 Netball Super League season.
Kwangwa had been with Surrey Storm for three seasons, having joined the English side towards the end of 2020 ahead of the 2021 season in the Vitality Netball Super League.
She became the first player from the local league to break into the United Kingdom’s Netball Super League, regarded as one of the top leagues in the world.
She went on to play two more seasons after making her debut in 2021 before the club released her at the end of the 2023 season.
Speaking to Zimpapers Sports yesterday, Kwangwa said she is back at Correctional Queens for the upcoming season.
Correctional Queens play in the Rainbow Netball League and the return of Kwangwa, who plays in goal defence is a boost for the side.
“I am still playing and I will play in the local league this season. I have always been a Correctional Queens player, those are my employers, I am a correctional officer by the way.
“It’s a service team, so you play if you are good, if the coaches want you, you play. So basically that’s what is there.
“I was actually on leave. I will be joining them on Thursday,” said Kwangwa.
The RANL 2024 league games are scheduled to begin before the end of this month.
“I can say one thing that I would want just like any other person playing sport is to have fun, enjoy the moment, and of course at the same time compete. That’s what I am looking forward to like it was before.
“I have been away but I have been following their games, so I know what to expect.”
Some of the highlights from her time with Surrey Storm include being voted Fans Player of the Season in 2022. She also scooped the Coach’s Player of the Season Award that same season. On whether she is open to taking another offer from foreign clubs, Kwangwa could not go into detail.
“In the meantime, I am not able to answer this one to be fair because I have other plans outside netball which I can’t disclose at the moment.”
The Gems captain also took time to share her thoughts on the senior national team’s performance of late.
The senior national team finished third at the Africa Netball Cup also known as the Africa Championships held in Botswana between November and December last year.
Zimbabwe was the highest-ranked team in the tournament in the absence of South Africa, Malawi, and Uganda. And hopes were that they would emerge champions but they only managed third position.
Kwangwa believes there is a need for continuity in terms of the rebuilding exercise.
“I think it was just a learning curve for us as a team, for most of the new members because I think we have seen a lot of new faces as compared to the team that was there in 2019.
“So that squad that was there in 2019, it was a team which had played together for more than four or five years, so the players understood each other and everything.
“So I think to the coaches, I don’t know, the executive or whoever is in charge of the selection now they have learnt that you can’t just keep on changing players. It affects the teams’ rhythm if I may say.
“But I think that’s what has affected team Zimbabwe, a lot of changes all the time. So if they try to keep the same squad, you understand each other more.
“Team rebuilding is a process. So just imagine what has been happening with the Gems, today we are rebuilding, the next six months we bring new faces, so it has been a rebuilding process throughout.
“And that’s why I think we have been vulnerable to other teams because we are still to understand each other. So that’s my thinking.
“So I think the squad that went to Botswana has a lot of young players. So I think.
Online Reporter