The Africa Netball Cup capped an eventful 2024 for the Desert Jewels, who despite prevailing challenges performed relatively well, showing that they are no longer pushovers.
Namibia finished fifth as hosts, losing one match and winning three at Swakopmund.
Their first international competition took them to Australia for the Pacific Netball Series in June. Australia used the tournament as a breeding ground for players with potential to break into their first team.
For Namibia and the Pacific nations, it is a platform to compete for world-ranking points and glory.
Namibia finished third after recording wins over Tonga, Samoa and Singapore, coupled with defeats to Fiji and Australia’s invitational team.
The performances in both competitions are expected to come with a higher ranking for the Desert Jewels who have impressed their primary backers, Debmarine Namibia — who were also Africa Netball Cup headline sponsors.
“We’ve been supporting netball since 2017. We’ve always felt that our ladies have the talent to be able to showcase it on the international stage,” Debmarine Namibia chief executive Willy Mertens said on the sidelines of the gripping continental tournament.
“We felt this is an important stage where they can also do it, and we hope that one day they can qualify for the world cup. That’s our aim, to help them to get there.”
He was impressed by how the Jewels matched the intensity and quality of the leading African nations in the competition.
“The games have been high quality. Even with the game we lost [against Uganda] the girls showed that they can do it,” Mertens noted.
“I think we gave it our best. We believe in you, we know you can do it and Namibia is behind you.”
Jewels captain Cornelia Mupenda says they wanted to reward their vociferous home support with a podium finish. However, they fell short of that ambition as they missed out on a semi-finals spot on goal difference.
“I just want to say thank you to the crowd that has been here for us throughout the week, it really means a lot to us to always have our nation backing us,” Mupenda says.
“Mostly, we’ve played outside the country this year and there’s no one to support us. So, its really nice to get to play in our home country and having our people support us.”
The Jewels’ marked improvement has coincided with regular netball action on the domestic scene.
The Nedbank Namibian Newspaper Cup youth competition, which the Khomas region won in March, and the MTC Namibia Netball Premier League won by Namibia Correctional Service, are the main contributors to the upturn in fortunes for the national side.
More good news is in the offing, with MTC promising to professionalise netball in the country within five years.
“We are well aware that the MTC Namibia Premier League is still very young, only four years old, and, therefore, there will be challenges,” MTC spokesperson Tim Ekandjo said during at the end of the league season in September.
“We would like to encourage the leadership to invest in a comprehensive proposal that you should present to your sponsor so that we understand what it would take to professionalise the MTC Namibia Netball Premier League to allow both parties to plan accordingly.”
Recounting the highs and lows of the league campaign, Netball Namibia president Rebekka Goagoses says the quality and competition in the top flight was commendable.
“This year has been another exciting chapter in our netball journey, filled with hard fought matches, incredible displays of skills and a passion for sport that unites us all” she says.
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