Africa Netball yet to be considered at AAG
Calistus Kolantsho | Wednesday September 9, 2015 16:53
Lebotse-Sebego told Mmegi Sport from Brazzaville yesterday that netball is not yet affiliated to AASC.
She said Africa Netball has been invited to a meeting where their application will be considered. Lebotse-Sebego explained that the idea is to introduce the sport in the All Africa Games programme and possibly in other countries where the sport is not being played, like in the Congo. She said netball is predominantly a Commonwealth countries' sport and it is not played in most Francophone countries.
“Africa Netball and the International Netball Federation (INF) have those countries targeted for growth. In 2011, though Mozambique was not a netball playing country, we were able to work with the Local Organising Committee to start netball and the country had a team competing,” she said.
Lebotse-Sebego explained that Africa Netball was formed in 2010 after the INF declared a motion of no confidence on the Confederation of African Netball Associations (CANA), the original regional African body for netball.
She pointed out that after many unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate CANA, 10 netball associations including Botswana met in Pretoria in 2010 and formed Africa Netball. Lebotse-Sebego was elected the first president and also appointed INF board director for Africa.
She said upon Africa Netball being constituted, the member states made a submission to the AASC for membership in 2010.
However, AASC still had CANA as their member and the CANA president still claimed legitimacy.
She said it is only now that their application will be considered because CANA is no longer active. Africa Netball met recently in Botswana where Lebotse-Sebego was re-elected for another four-year term, until 2019.
She explained that one of the meetings held in Gaborone during the Africa Netball games was with the association responsible for sports in Africa under the African Union.
She said the association was to witness for themselves that Africa Netball is functional and they invited CANA to the meeting so that each country would indicate where they belong and all the members present declared their support and membership to Africa Netball.