Botswana was awarded the rights to host the continental flagship tournament in August after Uganda decided to withdraw their bid. However, the Botswana Netball Association (BONA) had a difficult time convincing the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) to permit them to host.
The bone of contention was that BONA had not followed the hosting policy and the competition was not budgeted for After the uncertainty to host, BONA was given the green light by BNSC after securing a P300,000 sponsorship from Okavango Diamond Company.
Team Botswana had a bad day in the office as the men's and women's teams finished in position four. The competition ended on Wednesday with South Africa crowned men’s champions after beating Zimbabwe 45-40. Zambia is the women’s champions after beating Namibia 57-55 in a nail-biting final game. The women’s final went to a double extra time. Speaking to MmegiSport after the game, Zambia coach Lazarus Tembo struggled to hold his emotions because they were winning the Africa Cup for the first time.
“The win means a lot to us because it has not been an easy tournament. The final was intense, but this is the first time I have complained about officiating. It was substandard. We come here to play. A lot went into preparations. It is hurtful for all to be destroyed by poor officiating,” Tembo said.
South Africa men’s netball team coach, Jabulani Vilani said the competition went exceptionally well. “The tournament revived competition in Africa. As a team, we had to prove to ourselves that we were still champions. In 2021, we won the Africa Men’s Netball Championship which was held in Johannesburg. With the same team, we were invited to the Americas Netball Men’s Championship where we played against St. Vincent & Grenadines, Grenada, Antigua & Bermuda and Jamaica,” he said.
During that tournament, South Africa finished in second position after losing to Jamaica. Vilani said his players always follow instructions while also adding their style of play. Reacting to the final game against Zimbabwe, Vilani said they knew their opponents would attack hard since they had nothing to lose. He said they had to play against their opponents’ strength but dealt with them in the third quarter when he countered their mistakes. Meanwhile, Vilani said Botswana has a good team and cannot falter anything from them. “However, they still need to stick to the game plan because when they play, they play their style, as freestyle. They can pass the ball anywhere as long as it can reach the goal circle. They need to avoid playing higher passes, which are easily contested,” Vilani said.
Individual awards: Best goal defender: Loide Hanyanya-Namibia. Best shooter: Beauty Nazakwe-Zambia. Best midcourt: Elizabeth Bwalya.
Final standings: Men: South Africa (gold), Zimbabwe (silver), Kenya (bronze) and Botswana (position 4). Women: Zambia (gold), Namibia (silver), Zimbabwe (bronze), Botswana (position 4), Kenya (position 5), and Eswatini (position 6).
