Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE Netball Association technical director John Banda says the national select side — the Zambezi Eagles’ — recent participation at the Telkom Netball League in South Africa could just be the tonic they needed to spark their growth.
This comes after their appearance at the TNL Power Week One and Two, where they competed with South Africa’s top clubs.
“The key takeaways from this team’s participation is we have seen the quality of play exhibited by all these clubs.
“It actually shows there is a lot of competition in their league. So, we also need to work on our league system so that the standards improve.
“And again, we need to have thorough preparations when we are building up our teams. You could see most of the players were up there, they were very fit.
“So, I am happy with the initiative by Nedbank. We got the sponsorship to access the Hub whereby we are now incorporating sports science into our training. And we also definitely need that.”
The ZINA technical director added that competition also exposed the players to a different type of officiating.
“And then again, it exposed our players to a different type of officiating altogether.
“We are very much aware that when we talk of officials, especially umpires, we don’t have umpires representing us even in the regional tournaments.
“So, it also helped our players, they now understand and know what to expect in terms of umpiring at that level,” added Banda.
Zimbabwe have been to the World Netball Cup twice, 2019 and 2023.
The national association are making qualification for 2027 a priority, which saw them pushing for participation in South Africa as part of their bid to lay the groundwork.
Banda said they have been invited again for the Celtic Cup and will be working towards taking part at the event, building towards their main goal.
“I think we are on an upward trend because our major focus here is Australia 2027.
“Participating in this tournament was one of our key areas that we thought would assist us in building up a strong player base.
“Prepare for the forthcoming tournaments like the Africa Cup around December. Then we have the Africa qualifiers next year and everything else.
“So, you can see we are making a follow-up again after this (TNL) tournament.
“We are now focusing on the Celtic Cup because Zimbabwe was again invited to go to the Celtic Cup and Wales Series, we are making progress,” Banda said.
Last year the Gems won bronze at the inaugural Celtic Cup, also featuring Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
“After the Telkom tournament, we are looking at training camps.
“Starting from this August, we can call in players, Under-19, Under-21, the Zambezi Eagles and then the Gems themselves.
“They come for a week or so, we train, we keep doing that until we go for the upcoming events.
“And we also learnt from how the South Africans select their national team. It will assist us in our team selection as well.”
ZINA have indicated they will retain the national select side as part of their broader objective of long-term athlete development and building a strong player base.
