Uganda to compete in Debmarine Namibia Netball Pent Series

WINDHOEK, 31 MAY  – The second edition of Netball Namibia (NN)’s senior International Netball Tournament, known as the Debmarine Namibia Pent Series, will see Uganda making their first appearance when it kicks off early June.
The five-day championship will be held at the Israel Patrick Iyambo Police College in Olympia, Windhoek.
The competition will be held from 09 to 13 June with five countries – hosts Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Uganda – battling it out for ranking points.
Speaking to Nampa on Thursday, Imelda Neronga, the secretary general of NN, said Uganda will this year replace Swaziland who will not be making it to the competition due to financial constraints.
“After Swaziland told us that they won’t be making for this year’s tournament, we approached Uganda who confirmed today (Thursday) their availability to compete at this competition,” she said.
She added that Uganda’s participation will be good for all the other countries that are ranked lower than them.
“Last year, when we played Uganda at the African Championships in their country, the team did well, but we lost as you know we only travelled with nine players but this time around the team has prepared well and are looking forward to giving it their best when they face Uganda,” said Neronga.
She stated that playing against an opponent that is ranked higher than them will give them a better chance of picking up more ranking points.
Namibia aims to use the tournament to improve its position in Africa as well as on the world stage. They are currently ranked 36th on the world.
Uganda will be the only country at the competition ranked in the top 10 as they are currently ranked seventh. Zambia is ranked 16th, Zimbabwe 15th and Botswana 21st.
The tournament is sanctioned by the International Netball Federation and will count as a ranking event for participating countries.
(NAMPA)