She Cranes coach calls for early preps ahead of CWG

Peace Proscovia and She Cranes qualified after the Commonwealth Games after defeating five other African countries to lift the Africa Netball Champions. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA

What you need to know:

  • Netball. She Cranes, The reigning African netball champions have been drawn in Pool B at the 2018 Commonwealth games alongside New Zealand, England, Malawi, Wales and Scotland.

KAMPALA. The She Cranes head coach has called for early training in order to give Uganda a fighting chance at next year’s Commonwealth Netball Championships.
Uganda will face netball giants New Zealand, the 2015 World Cup finalists as well as England. Other teams in Pool A are Malawi, Wales and Scotland.
“Uganda has talent but that talent needs proper preparation. So we urge the stakeholders to provide the necessary assistance, and in time,” Vincent Kiwanuka said after yesterday’s draws in Australia. He added, that the training requires not only the team’s presence but also adequate funding.
Twelve countries, drawn in two pools, will compete on a round-robin basis in the prestigious tournament scheduled for April 2018 in Australia. Hosts Australia will entertain Jamaica, South Africa, Barbados, Fiji and Northern Ireland in Pool A.
She Cranes team qualified for the tournament in June after winning the African Netball Championships which they hosted in Lugogo, which put them ninth in the world rankings.
Since then, Kiwanuka says, “I don’t know the current situation of the netballers and I am just waiting for the federation to call them again for training, I even don’t know who they will call.”
The netball fraternity is still preoccupied with elections, scheduled for September 28 plus the National Netball League starting September 9 according to Annet Kisomose general secretary Uganda Netball Federation. She said, “It’s still too early to think about an event scheduled for next year.”
However, late preparations and last-moment panic have always cost Ugandan teams.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES- NETBALL

POOL A
Australia
Jamaica
South Africa
Barbados
Fiji
Northern Ireland
POOL B
New Zealand
England
Malawi,
Wales
Scotland
Uganda