The president of the Zimbabwe Netball Association, Leticia Chipandu, said she was confident the country Would win the right to host the regional netball festival for the first time.
Chipandu, who was recently elected the vice president of the regional netball controlling body at its congress in Namibia, said the association had already forwarded its bid document to the COSANA leadership. She said a number of countries had pledged their support for Zimbabwe’s bid.
COSANA is made up of 14 countries, Angola, Seychelles, Mauritius, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Madagascrar, Comoros and Zimbabwe.
The strongest
netball playing teams in the region, based on past performance, are Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.
According to Chipandu, all the 14 countries will vote in choosing the winning candidate from the bidding nations.
“We have the facilities good enough to host the whole of Africa. I think there is a very good chance of winning the right to host the competition,” says Chipandu.
She said she was looking forward to a good show by the national netball team at the All Africa Games to help in their cause to win the bidding rights. The Zimbabwean team has qualified for the Games, to be held from 3 to 18 September in Maputo, and the netball boss revealed that they have already put in place a training programme to guarantee success at the continental sports extravaganza.
Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana, have also forwarded their bids to welcome in their countries the best netball teams from the region. The winning country is to be announced in October.
Zimbabwe has hosted other regional sports tournaments before, such as the COSAFA senior soccer tournament, which the Warriors won in 2009.
If they manage to win the right to host the competition, it will be a big boost for netball, a sport which lacks in terms of sponsorship, despite having a huge following all around the country.
Post published in: Zimbabwe Sports News