Desert Jewels target Tanzania

NAIROBI – Namibia’s Debmarine Desert Jewels will look to extend their winning run when they face Tanzania at 12h00 today in their third Pool 1 match at the Africa Netball Cup and Netball World Cup Sydney 2027 Africa Regional Qualifiers in Nairobi.

The Desert Jewels have made a strong start to their campaign, recording consecutive victories over Botswana and Zimbabwe. They defeated Zimbabwe 47-31 yesterday, moving closer to the qualification places for the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney, Australia.

Namibia are currently 14th in the World Netball rankings, according to the latest rankings published on 3 September. Tanzania, meanwhile, does not currently hold an official World Netball ranking, as it has not met the minimum number of matches required to retain a ranking.

The rankings matter in the Nairobi tournament because South Africa and Uganda have already qualified for Sydney 2027 through their World Netball ranking positions, leaving the remaining teams to compete for the other two African qualification places.

Tanzania endured a difficult opening match, losing 90-22 to defending African champions South Africa on Saturday. The Proteas led 23-5 after the first quarter and 43-8 at half-time before completing a 68-goal victory. Namibia, however, enter today’s match with growing confidence after another disciplined performance against Zimbabwe.

The Desert Jewels established control early, leading 12-6 after the first quarter before extending their advantage to 27-16 at half-time. Namibia continued to dictate the tempo in the third quarter, taking a 37-25 lead into the final period before closing out the match 47-31.

Head coach Julene Meyer said the encounter was intense and physical but praised her players for their execution.

“I am happy with the way the players played and executed. We had a strong start, and centre-pass conversions and turnover conversions were way better than the first match against Botswana. Towards the end, we slipped in not keeping possession and not turning possession into shooting opportunities. The connection was good, and the team played well as a unit, and I am proud of them.”

Meyer said the coaching staff would now analyse Tanzania carefully, insisting that Namibia cannot afford to underestimate any opponent with World Cup qualification at stake.

“We will now face Tanzania and will go back to do our proper analysis. No team can be underestimated. There is a huge prize at stake. We cannot take anything for granted. We will rest and come back with renewed focus.”

Vice-captain Monica Gomases said the team was determined to continue producing performances that would make their supporters proud.

“We wanted to give a performance that would give us a win. We play for everyone at home, the young girls watching, our sponsor Debmarine and the whole Namibian nation,” she said.

Gomases added that Tanzania would receive Namibia’s full respect.

“We will return to face Tanzania. We respect them, and we don’t take any match for granted.”

The Namibia-Tanzania encounter is another important Pool 1 fixture as the teams chase a place at Sydney 2027. The African qualifier is being contested by 10 nations in Nairobi, with the top two eligible teams earning invitations to the World Cup.

Elsewhere, Uganda defeated Zambia 59-40, while Malawi was scheduled to face Nigeria, and Botswana were due to meet Tanzania at the time of going to print. In the men’s competition, Eswatini defeated Malawi 42-37, while South Africa beat Kenya 49-43.

-lmupetami@nepc.com.na

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