Overlooking local tourneys backfires

Terrible showing: The national Netball team recently lost their first six matches at the Africa Netball Cup in Namibia
Terrible showing: The national Netball team recently lost their first six matches at the Africa Netball Cup in Namibia

The local netball league has not been played in three years and recently the Botswana Netball Association (BONA) sent the national team to the Africa Netball Cup in Namibia. It was a less desirable showing by Dinaledi and Mmegi Sport Correspondent, KABELO BORANABI wonders if the decision to opt for international over local competitions has backfired

Dinaledi lost their first six games only to salvage victories in their last two against Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The team finished the nine-team tournament second from the bottom just ahead of Tanzania, who were the only team to leave the competition without a win. Dinaledi, once a promising side on the continent, is ranked 27th in the world.

The team’s highest ranking was 16th in 2016 and five years later the team has fallen a long way behind. There was a glimmer of hope after the 2017 Netball World Youth Cup held in Gaborone. The performance of the Under-21 team in the tournament brought some level of hope at a time when the players were active in the BONA national league sponsored by the retail chain store, Spar.

Editor's Comment
Congratulations Anicia Gaothuse!

The contest had 10 beautiful young girls as finalists and unfortunately only one could wear the crown.The judges picked Anicia Gaothuse. To all those who feel their contestant should have won ahead of Anicia for whatever reason, hardly; the judges found Anicia to be the best among the best, so desist from disrespecting our newly crowned queen on social media or anywhere else, for that matter! Each of the 10 beautiful young women had supporters...

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