Netball league set in Victoria Falls

It promises to be a blockbuster weekend, with eight bubbles scheduled across Zimbabwe.

THE Victoria Falls Netball League entered Week Two with eight teams fulfilling their fixtures this past weekend.

The league started two weeks ago after the teams that had been playing social sport in Victoria Falls were pooled together to form a competitive league.

Eight of the teams Bangelo, Corinthians, Falls Queens, Gwanzura, Kasambabezi, Mosi Queens, Shooting Stars and VIP Mosi, are from Victoria Falls and Mutagesh is from Hwange.

The league is registered under the Zimbabwe Netball Association.

Gwanzura beat Bangelo 27-23 while Kasambabezi beat Falls Queens 42-21.

VIP MOSI travelled to play Mutagesh in Hwange and won 40-35 while Mosi Queens beat Corinthians 35-26.

In each match players that excelled as best player, best shooter, most disciplined, golden hand and best defender were recognised.

League president Israel Samende Ndlovu said teams will be play return fixtures and there are plans to rope in more teams in the future.

“The league started with nine teams from Victoria Falls and one from Hwange. We are in Week Two and VIP Mosi travelled to Lukosi to face Hwange based Mutagesh, an indication that our League seeks to cover as much area as possible. We have also opened social media platforms as we will strive to livestream some matches. Among the objectives is to identify and nurture talent in the district. We want to spot potential netball players for provincial and national teams,” said Ndlovu.

He said the year 2023 is the year of Women in Sport and hence the Netball World Cup in South Africa as well as the Women’s Soccer World Cup in New Zealand, Australia.

The league has no outright sponsor and relies on affiliation fees from clubs.

“The league has been going on well despite the fact that we still don’t have sponsorship,” added Ndlovu.

He said matches will be played on weekends but will break during the harmonised election week.

An executive has been set up and Surprise Mpofu of VIP Mosi is the organising secretary.

— @ncubeleon