Netball national team squad named for World Cup qualifiers
BONGANI MALUNGA
The Botswana senior national netball team will be aiming to make their third Netball World Cup appearance as they are set to compete in the African Regional Netball World Cup Qualifiers. With only two African slots available, Botswana will be highly motivated to book their place in next year’s World Cup.
The qualifying tournament will be held at the University of Pretoria Indoor Sports Hall in Pretoria from 20-29 August. Head coach Jenny Van Dyk has named a final squad of 14 players who will compete in the African qualifiers. According to the Botswana Netball Association (BONA) the selection process took four months with many national team hopefuls fighting for a spot in the final 14 list.
Botswana has previously participated in two World Cup campaigns. The team made their debut in the 2007 Netball World Cup in New Zealand whereby the team did not make it past the pool phase after suffering defeats against New Zealand, Malawi and Wales. They then made their second appearance at the 2011 World Cup in Singapore. In the 2011 edition they got off to the best possible start as they recorded an upset with a victory over hosts Singapore.
The team then lost their next two pool games as they finished third in the pool. Although Botswana did not advance to the knockout stage, their players made a good impression on the Singapore netball fraternity. A year later numerous Botswana players had stints in the Singapore Netball Super League, gaining valuable experience of playing abroad. Botswana is aiming to end a 12 year struggle of not qualifying for the World Cup.
After a rigorous selection process that ran from February to June, Head Coach Jenny Van Dyk and her Technical Team have finally announced the fourteen (14) players to represent Botswana at the Africa Regional World Netball Cup Qualifiers. The qualifiers will be held at University of Pretoria indoor Sports hall in Pretoria, South Africa on the 20th – 29th August 2022.
The Botswana squad
Tumisang Bagidi (Notwane)
Margaret Banda (Tasc)
Hildah Binang (BDF Cats)
Cheludo David (Police)
Fatima Dino (Police)
Kelebogile Mangole (Tasc)
Kgomotso Matibini (Police)
Letang Mogotlhwane (Police)
Kearoma Mosotho (UB Crystals)
Ntebogang Motlakaloso (Prisons)
Barati Phesodi (Police)
Beauty Radiseong (Notwane)
Maungo Simone (BDF Cats)
Gosego Tsele (BDF Cats)