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THE Zimbabwe senior netball team has high hopes of clinching one of the two slots reserved for Africa at the World Cup to be held in Australia next year.
Africa has four slots with two having already been automatically taken by Malawi and South Africa who are ranked fifth and sixth in the world. In the absence of the two the Zimbabwe netball team is highly optimistic of be one of the two teams to earn the spot.
Zimbabwe will take part in the qualifiers in Botswana which will run from 14 to 21 September as they seek to qualify for the World Cup which is held every four years and features the top 16 teams from around the globe.
Zimbabwe Netball Association president Leticia Chipandu said the team was in camp at Malbereign Girls High School in Harare and would remain in camp until their departure by road for Botswana on Thursday.
“We are one of the top contenders for the World Cup qualifiers and the team is in good form, hopefully we will manage to clinch one of the two spots which are vacant,” said Chipandu.
Zimbabwe has been placed in a pool deemed “the pool of death” where they will fight out against hosts Botswana, Kenya and Tanzania.
“We have been placed with teams that also have the ability to clinch the prize we are eyeing as well and we will need to be tactful and also give them a run for their money as we are eyeing the two spots left,” said Chipandu.
Tanzania, who are ranked number 14 by the International Federation of Netball Associations and are the third high-ranked African team followed by Botswana who are ranked number 16 and Zimbabwe who are on number 26 in the world, view the competition as important because if they perform well it will improve their world standing.
Chipandu appealed for sponsorship saying they were relying on their meagre resources, and that they had not received anything tangible from well-wishers making it difficult for the team of close to 20 travelling for the qualifiers.
Online Reporter