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National women’s netball team Divas departed on Friday for the Africa Cup 2022 which doubles up as a qualifier for the Netball World Cup (NWC) 2023, in Cape Town South Africa.

The top two finishing teams from the event will then be invited by World Netball to compete at the NWC2023. Hosts South Africa have already been pre-qualified for the World Cup.

National women’s netball team Head Coach Joseph Makau named a 12-member squad to participate in the Africa Cup Championships.

“We have never trained this long and hard as we have now, the excitement in the team is inspiring and moving. We have two goals going into the games. To qualify for the 2023 Cape town World Cup and improve our ranking. Kenya dominates in sports and we need to fly our flag high as netball.”

Round-robin format

Divas are currently ranked 40th in the World, with Uganda in sixth, Malawi seventh, Zimbabwe 13th, Zambia 17th, Namibia 23rd and Botswana 28th.

The competition will be played in a round-robin format with the 9 teams split into two pools based on the most recent results from the Africa Cup 2021 final placings. Kenya is in Pool B against Zambia, Malawi and Eswatini.

Parin Simiyu, the captain of the team will lead the Divas ahead of their first game on Sunday, 21st August against Zambia.

Among the entrants in the team are; 20 years of age is midfielder centre, Vida Atieno. Shooter Lydia Nyapere and mid-court Irene Anyango who earned their first call-ups to the national team at the 2019 Africa Championship have also joined the team. Other notable inclusions are seasoned shooter Bridgit Nanzala and ever-green defender Florence Ndombi.

Meanwhile, The National Olympic Committee Kenya (NOC-K) has offered to support the Divas during the contest perieod.

NOC-K Secretary General Francis Mutuku said, “We are delighted to support Divas to represent the country at the Africa Cup.”

We’ve been challenged to see our fellow neighbours perform well and improve our ranking. We have come back with lessons learnt and we want to develop our sports and begin the journey to Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.”