National League returns with 29 games in two days
The domestic netball season gets underway with a bumper weekend in Maun, as the tourist town plays host to 29 games in two days.
The return to action marks the first crucial part of Botswana Netball Association’s (BONA) push to revive the sport’s static fortunes.
To make the matches as competitive as possible, the association have divided the action into two tiers: Division A and B.
The top league comprises of the eight sides who qualified for the National Finals last year while the lower level is made up of teams who failed to progress beyond the round-robin phase.
On top of this, BoNA intend to establish an U/17 league in an effort to create a pool of young players and expose them to the pressure and demands of match action.
Speaking at a press conference in Gaborone earlier this month, BONA President, Mpopi Moatlhodi described the league’s start as an important milestone for netball.
“We are stepping in at a critical time for the sport since netball is faced with key issues that demand long-term solutions. Key issues include amongst others limited funding and lack of sponsors, which makes securing sustainable funding to support our programmes, national teams and leagues quite difficult. However, we are working hard to attract corporate sponsorships, as well as exploring innovative fundraising opportunities to ensure that the growth of netball is not limited by financial constraints,” said Moatlhodi, who assumed the top spot in June.
In the ladies section, Division A features 8 teams: BDF Cats, Notwane, Jwaneng, Police, Nico United, TAFIC, Tasc and Maun Heroes.
The men’s division actually includes nine sides, namely: BDF Cats, Notwane, Police, Nico United, TAFIC, Maun Heroes, Uprising, Prisons and Thunder Bolts.
All 17 teams will be in action in Maun. Meanwhile, the women’s newly-appointed national team Head Coach, Martha Mosoahle-Samm expressed excitement at being given the honour and responsibility of leading Botswana.
While the South African’s first assignment will be to lead BW at the Africa Cup in Malawi, Lilongwe from the 4 th – 8 th December, her key deliverable is to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Sydney, Australia.
The qualifiers are slated for next year.
“The only challenge is that Botswana has been out of action for a long time so the players have missed out on how netball has evolved. But we are working on that, the lingo and technical part of the game. We are trying to catch up and familiarise ourselves with the latest competition rules and expectations. Eswatini was a good competition and being close to South Africa they play a lot, so Botswana too require more international friendly matches for more exposure,” said Mosoahle-Samm adding from what she has seen so far, the country is rich with netball talent.
Her time in charge of the national team got off to a winning start with a 46-33 success over Eswatini in Jwaneng. The September series also saw the local ladies take on their male counterparts from both BW and Eswatini, losing 38-23 and 49-27 respectively.
After a lengthy lay-off, the games come thick and fast, the local ladies’ next international assignment scheduled for later this month against Malawi, as Mosoahle-Samm looks to build on her promising start.
