With two days before the Botswana women senior national netball team departs for Zambia for the Africa Netball Championship Qualifiers, there is great optimism the team will do well and win their scheduled games.
Botswana Netball Association (BONA) Public Relations Officer (PRO) Theresa Hirschfeld told The Telegraph that they are still in the process of finalising their squad, adding that their performance in training and in friendly games will help in trimming the squad to the final twelve.
She further said they have intensified their training ahead of the competition as a means of fully preparing for the games. “The team had gone for a weekend away at South Africa and we organised three games for them. They won two and only lost one,” she added.
Hirschfeld highlighted that the games helped them to identify where they need to work most on, adding that it is a learning curve for the team. “Our squad is good and ready for the battle; I have faith in them that they will do well,” says Hirschfeld.
She added that they have sourced and engaged two South African coaches who have been training the team for a long time now.
Asked on the team’s reaction to the pressure and their current mood, BONA PRO said the team is jolly and ready to play. “They are ready and willing to learn from the coaches, and they are confident on what they are doing which makes us trust them,” she said adding that “We are hoping to qualify and be in the top 2 representing Africa at the World Cup, as well as improve our rankings.”
BONA President Malebogo Raditladi said she is very happy with the team’s fitness, adding that they had time to prepare and can only hope for the best.
During the African Women Netball Championship, Botswana will play hosts Zambia on 13th August, Zimbabwe on 14th August, Malawi on 15th August, Uganda on 16th August and Kenya on the 17th before ending the tournament against Namibia on the 18th August.
The African Women Netball Championship qualifiers’ tournament is also the World Cup qualifier.
Botswana is ranked 21 by the International Netball Federation (INF). The team leaves on the 10th.
